Pipe Dreams
by Thorntons
Summary: A short story set in the current economic climate, around the time of late Series 6. Jane and Lisbon are increasingly estranged, it would take a major incident to turn things around.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Cool observations**

The early morning briefing was due to start, it was clearly important as Abbott had insisted everyone attend. Cho was seated across the aisle from Jane, who had left the end seat vacant for Lisbon. Cho's eyes narrowed as he saw the consultant look anxiously toward the door, it was unlike Lisbon to be late and it didn't take much guessing as to the reason for that. It wasn't Cho's place to interfere but he felt a twinge of annoyance at the pickle Jane and Lisbon had gotten themselves into.

It was perfectly understandable to Cho that Lisbon would want to prove herself a good agent in her own right. There had been a whispering campaign, initiated by Fischer, questioning Lisbon's relationship with Jane. Other agents were unhappy that Lisbon hadn't been through Quantico, but Cho staunchly defended her whenever the situation arose citing her previous record as proof of her competency.

Given the circumstances, Cho found it incomprehensible that she would risk undermining all that hard work, with her recent shenanigans. It was patently obvious that Jane had been trying to break the ice in the weeks leading up to the art fraud case, but Jane was taking his own sweet time as usual.

Then a cloud appeared on the horizon in the form of Agent Pike, a straightforward and available man, who had set his sights on Lisbon. Naturally flattered by the attention Lisbon had enjoyed a few dates. Cho had no doubt the intention was to try and galvanise Jane into action, but it looked like Pike was getting serious. Cho couldn't blame Lisbon, though for once his sympathies lay with the consultant, who wasn't anywhere near as good at hiding his feelings as he supposed.

Jane visibly relaxed as Lisbon hurriedly made her way in, and shuffled back over to leave the seat by the aisle free for her. Clearly rattled by her late arrival, Lisbon pointedly ignored Jane and squeezed passed Cho to sit by him. The consultant's disappointment was palpable; the slight had not gone unnoticed. A brief look of annoyance flitted over Jane's face before he set the mask back in place.

Lisbon whispered a hurried good morning to Cho before scanning the briefing papers they had been given. The unmistakably masculine scent of sandalwood and bergamot emanated from Lisbon's freshly washed, and slightly damp hair. The ends curled slightly, as she clearly hadn't had time to complete her normal routine. The top was fresh, but that looked like the same pant suit Lisbon had been wearing yesterday. Cho realised he had been working with Jane too long now, as he routinely utilised all his senses to process information, and it didn't take much working out the reason for Lisbon's tardiness.

Cho's ears caught the sound of a chair scrapping on the floor, and he saw Jane stand up and stretch his legs, before making his way to the back of the room, from where he could observe proceedings. A flash of concern crossed Lisbon's face as she saw Jane walk away, unsure whether he was going to leave the room completely. She settled down once she saw him assume his new position, but bristled with irritation at his inability to conform like everyone else. In truth, most things Jane did these days annoyed her.

Abbott breezed in with Fischer in his wake and launched straight into the briefing. "Alrighty is everyone here?" He glanced quickly round the room, frowning slightly at Jane's detached stance from the main group. "The Yellowrose Oil Corporation has received a threat today, which they have passed on to us. As you know there are cranks out there issuing threats all the time, but this threat seems to have more substance."

Fischer stepped forward on Abbott's prompt. "The message received is typically grandiose and veiled in allegory. No doubt the product of an overactive imagination. It's in your briefing to read in full, but it refers to the mother lode of the Permian Basin, and is signed the Sons of Adrestia."

Some amusement broke out at the absurd rhetoric, but Abbott raised his hand to still the assembled agents. "I wish this were a laughing matter. Unfortunately I have to inform you that explosive devices have been found at strategic locations around the oil distribution network. Nothing that would do any real damage, but the fact they know exactly where to place the devices is worrying."

Abbott turned to the rather anaemic looking agent. "Wylie I believe you've got some photographs of the locations for us." Wylie tried to interrupt, but Abbott silenced him with an impatient glare. Wylie just raised his eyebrows resignedly, and proceeded to put up the images on the screen behind the Supervisory Agent. Abbott looked critically at the images. "Is this the best we've got – can't you zoom in on this?" Wylie hesitantly came forward. "I was trying to tell you Sir, we don't have any satellite imagery yet, and I've had to rely on Google Earth."

Abbott inhaled deeply, clearly less than impressed. "Ok let's work with what we've got for now. The main pipelines are buried underground, but the pump stations and other components are above ground. These are obviously more vulnerable to attack but are considerably easier to keep secure, once you're aware there is a threat. The initial devices were all located at the above ground outlets."

Abbott turned to Fischer to take over. "There are pipelines all over Texas, but judging by the reference to the Permian Basin and the location of the initial attacks, we are going to concentrate our efforts around the city of Midland, where the pipelines converge as they make their way to the Gulf refineries."

A map of the pipelines appeared on the screen behind her to reinforce her point.

Making up for her late appearance, Lisbon had been reading the briefing notes avidly and interrupted with a quick question. "Who has access to these pipeline maps apart from the authorities?"

"Good question Agent Lisbon." Fischer acknowledged. "General maps are available to anyone on the internet using the NPMS National Pipeline Mapping System. Although the pipes are buried in this area, above ground markers are mandatory to provide an indication of their approximate location, the product carried, and the name and contact information of the company that operates the pipeline."

"So we basically leave directions for the terrorists to help them? You couldn't make it up." Jane snarked from his hiding place at the back of the room.

"There are health and safety issues at stake, on balance it's more important that people know that there are pipelines present, to eliminate accidental damage." Fischer coolly replied.

Abbott showed some signs of impatience, and tried to move things along. "At the last count there were over 17,000 miles of crude oil trunk lines in Texas alone, they are typically 8 to 24 inches in diameter. Pipelines cross under rivers, bridges, highways, farmland and public spaces and may be close to homes and businesses. They inevitably cross private land, which is harder to monitor apart from aerial surveillance."

"So you're saying they could attack almost anywhere, and we have as much chance of stopping them as finding a needle in a haystack?" Although Jane was following the case, he wasn't bothering to hide his ill humour.

Cho's eyes widened slightly, expecting Abbott to bite back. He could feel Lisbon stiffen slightly beside him, neither of them had much doubt as to the reason for Jane's bad temper. Abbott's lips pursed briefly, as he considered his response. "I think you've put that very succinctly. Even if we were to send drones flying all round Texas monitoring the situation, it would be highly unlikely we could prevent an attack by surveillance alone."

Fischer stepped back into the fray."Naturally we will be stepping up security, it may make people think twice about where they target, and there would be a public outcry if it appeared nothing was being done."

Abbott honed in on the disgruntled consultant on the opposite side of the room. "No one has heard of the Sons of Adrestia before, they're not on any of our databases. Possibly they are a splinter group, but we can't tell what their motives are yet. Any ideas Jane?"

Jane walked down the side of the room as he approached Abbott, all eyes bar Lisbon's followed him as he spoke. "Well you have the obvious motive of terrorism, where the aim is to cause wide scale disruption. If you're lucky it's eco terrorists just trying to make a point, they may want to cause some disruption, but it would go against all they stand for to precipitate any action that would damage the environment."

"We've got the techs monitoring the internet traffic to pick up any chatter that would indicate an organised attack, but they've found nothing yet." Abbott responded.

Jane paused briefly, processing that information. "The references to mother lode and sons are interesting. It makes me wonder if there is a more personal element to this. If I'm not mistaken Adrestia was 'she who cannot be escaped', a goddess of revenge and retribution. I'm inclined to suspect this is a lone wolf with a grievance against some person or organisation."

Instinctively Lisbon jumped in at this point. "You mean someone connected with Yellowrose?" Their eyes locked across the room briefly, Jane's ice cool glare was too much for Lisbon to outlast, and she averted her eyes before he answered.

"Indeed Agent Lisbon, that would be an excellent starting point." Turning his attention back to Abbott, before their exchange drew further attention, Jane proceeded calmly. "Perhaps we could start with finding out more about the company - establish their financial stability, get a roster of recent employees, and the accident register to see if there are any claims pending or ones that have recently been dismissed. I need to see a few of these sites for myself, there's only so much you can learn from a photograph."

Abbott nodded in agreement. "Take Lisbon and Cho with you. Fischer and Wylie can make a start on collating data. You all know the drill on something this high profile; Schultz is going to be breathing down my neck, so time is of the essence."

They made their way back to the office, Lisbon and Jane still pointedly avoided each other. Cho could think of better ways of spending the day than being the meat in this particular sandwich, better make sure he had plenty to read on the way. Cho's head turned as he heard Jane mutter something under his breath. The elevator doors closed, and Agent Pike made his way across the floor towards Lisbon. Jane jumped up to greet him "Agent Pike, good to see you. What brings you to our humble abode, an update on the art case perhaps?"

Pike paused, slightly nonplussed by Jane's act of innocence. "I came to see Tere...Agent Lisbon actually."

Cho could see Lisbon tense up at the encounter, Jane was playing with fire.

"Well who could blame you for that? Actually you're just in time; we're just about to set off on a case, so I'll leave you while we make the final arrangements." Jane kept up his act of outward charm, though Cho and Lisbon both detected the undertones.

Once his back was turned to Jane, Pike raised his eyebrows questioningly and motioned in Jane's direction. Lisbon bit down on her lip and tried to keep her cool. Jane was now apparently engrossed in some documents at the table with Cho. "Marcus what are you doing here? I'm on a case." She hissed.

Taking a quick look over his shoulder, Pike moved over to Lisbon and proprietarily placed his hand on her shoulder. Cho observed proceedings from afar; the slight pullback from Lisbon did not go unnoticed. The edges of his lips quirked up briefly before settling back into a frown as Pike continued to pursue his quarry.

Jane had always been very tactile with Lisbon, continually invading her personal space and letting his hand trail down her back, but that always seemed quite organic, not staged for effect. It was noticeable that of late Jane maintained a respectable distance between them, and if their hands should inadvertently touch, there was a flurry of embarrassment between them. It was painful to watch at times.

With some satisfaction Cho noted Lisbon shaking her head, and Pike retreating to the elevator, obviously less than pleased by the outcome. Jane cleared his throat. "Earth to Cho." Cho quickly engaged back with the matter in hand. Jane indulged in a brief smile, the enigmatic agent had been surprisingly easy to read. It was little solace to know Jane wasn't the only one uncomfortable with the situation.

Jane looked up as Lisbon approached."We can catch up on the plans on the way, I'll just get some drinks together, and then we can meet up at your car in ten minutes."

Lisbon's hesitation gave her away. "I thought we could go in the Silver Bucket; we have a long drive ahead of us, and it might be more comfortable."

"But you hate my driving." Jane guessed she'd had a lift in this morning, and was embarrassed to admit she had no car.

"Well you're always on about how good that tin can is, besides I want to catch up some background information on the journey." Good save Jane conceded, he wouldn't call Lisbon out on the deception. It was going to be a tense enough journey without starting out on a bad note.

Cho went to wash up his cup before they left, and Fischer sidled alongside him. "Rather you than me." She smirked, as she looked over to the erstwhile friends. Unwilling to show any disloyalty, Cho ignored the inference and brusquely requested they pass on any information as soon as it came in.

Though tidy by nature, Jane wasn't expecting to be using his vehicle, and he went ahead to keep a few of the personal mementos he retained to personalise his de facto home. Lisbon caught him unawares as he picked up some photographs and went to keep them in a drawer. There was rawness to him that pierced through her cold shell, a glimpse of the man she had first encountered. They held each other's looks briefly in a searching exchange, until Cho's arrival interrupted their thoughts.

Jane cleared the last of his belongings, transforming the Airstream to a functional workspace. Lisbon sat quietly in the front seat, feeling guilty that she had invaded his inner sanctum, by insisting on him driving. She chewed her bottom lip, wondering if she should relinquish her chair and swap places with Cho. It was too late for that, Cho had already spread his things out on the side table and had picked up some reading matter.

Jane politely enquired if Lisbon was ok, before setting off on the long drive to the Permian Basin. Five hours on the road wasn't fun at the best of times, but it was going to be purgatory in the current atmosphere. Cho looked up from time to time, observing how Jane and Lisbon had angled their bodies away from each other, just sneaking the occasional wary looks at each other. A psychologist would have a field day with this. Cho pressed his lips together in annoyance, one of them was going to have to break the silence at some stage, it would be a recipe for disaster going out into the field like this.


	2. Chapter 2 : Moody Blues

**Chapter 2: Moody Blues**

The restless drumming of the steering wheel was setting Lisbon's teeth on edge, the sound resonating in the enclosed space. Cho observed with wry amusement, as Lisbon struggled to contain her intense irritation in deference to the atmosphere of forced politeness. Over the years the team and Cho in particular, had become more adept on picking up on Jane's moods. However well Jane masked his expression, he never had complete control over his extremities they were a manifestation of his underlying tension.

Shifting his gaze Cho noticed Lisbon rubbing her temples, before readjusting her position with an irritable huff and staring out of the side window. "Got some aspirin Jane?" Cho would try and defuse this one.

Jane looked at Cho through his rear view mirror. "Headache?"

Cho silently motioned his head towards Lisbon.

"Cabinet in the washroom, and there's some bottled water in the fridge." Jane glanced at Lisbon, she did look peaky. No doubt a combination of the wine Pike had plied her with and a lack of sleep. His stomach knotted at that thought.

Relenting slightly, he recalled Lisbon was a poor traveller hence why she preferred to drive. "There are some breakfast bars in the cupboard by the sink, if anyone wants something to keep them going." He added as an afterthought; some sugar might do her some good.

Proceeding to the washroom, Cho had an appreciative look round the Airstream - hell he'd stayed in flats a lot worse than this. The sleeping tablets, dated last week, at the front of the cabinet caught his eye. The insomnia must be worse than usual - no prizes for guessing why.

Cho handed the aspirin and water to Lisbon, she looked surprised. "Take these."

Refusing the food, the water and aspirin were gratefully received; she was mortified her companions had noticed her malaise.

Jane opened the windows slightly, to get some air in for Lisbon. "Air conditioning is a bit rudimentary, it can get a bit stuffy in here at times." He explained to no one in particular.

Jane looked in the mirror at Cho. "You Ok to drive from San Angelo, so I can have a look through the information a bit more closely."

"Yeah, sure thing. They've sent some more background information through. Want to look Lisbon?" Cho tried to take advantage of the slight thaw in the atmosphere.

Lisbon welcomed the opportunity to put some distance between them. "If there's room over there, I'll come and join you." Reading tended to exacerbate her travel sickness, but she welcomed the diversion. "What have you found out about Yellowrose?"

"The whole industry is suffering, prices are depressed. There were 888 oil/gas rigs last year in the US but only around 400 now. All the support industries are suffering too; there's been widespread pressure to cut costs. At one stage it wouldn't have been viable to produce shale oil at these prices but the international pressures have forced productivity improvements. There's been a human cost, wide scale layoffs, development projects shelved; there are a lot of very unhappy people in the industry." Cho summarised.

"Anything that would single out Yellowrose?" Lisbon asked.

"They've been particularly aggressive in their cutbacks, so there would be a lot of people with an axe to grind." Cho still hadn't found anything specific to single out this particular company.

Jane absorbed it all in as he drove. "So why would this area be targeted? What's the link to Yellowrose?"

"Well they obviously have a presence, as do all the major companies, but you would have thought it was easier to attack their HQ in Houston." Cho countered, they were all just thinking out loud at this stage.

"Unless the person is based in this area for some reason." Lisbon added for good measure.

They continued to bounce ideas around until they neared their first stop. Jane finally pulled into the forecourt of the Stripes convenience store near the airbase in San Angelo, where they could kill two birds with one stone, refuelling both the vehicle and its passengers.

Much to Jane's amusement, Cho subconsciously assumed a more military bearing as he struck up a conversation with some people from the nearby airbase. It was hard to believe Cho could get stiffer than his normal ramrod stance.

Still feeling a bit out of sorts, Lisbon went off by herself to get her caffeine fix, insisting she didn't want anything to eat. Jane watched as she took refuge from the sun in the Airstream, clutching her coffee to take in the aroma. The smell of gas station taco's drifted across, and Jane went off in search of food, happily taking in the rays as he enjoyed his food.

Popping briefly into the cabin, he deposited an unasked for bag in front of Lisbon "Here take this, you'll feel better." Without waiting for a response, Jane left to refuel the Airstream.

Peering inside the bag Lisbon found the usual sweet offering. She sighed heavily at the interference, before succumbing to temptation.

Content to see the bag empty on his return, Jane claimed the couch opposite Lisbon and stretched out with a complete lack of self-consciousness, before reaching for the information pack. Looking for an excuse to move away, Lisbon offered the use of the dinette. Content with his position, Jane just shook his head as he proceeded to commit the pertinent points to memory.

Calm descended with Lisbon asking Cho the odd question as he drove, and Jane emitting intermittent grunts as something in the files caught his notice. Cho's eyes periodically settled on the scene behind him, their intense concentration pre-empted the need for discourse. Ironically their studied indifference somehow made them preternaturally aware of each other's presence. Every creak of the table or misplaced paper, would elicit a furtive glance from the other party. Jane's languid repose was a study of composure, and yet there was a predatory awareness beneath his insouciant veneer.

A series of alerts on Lisbon's phone punctuated the quiet; a glare from Lisbon did nothing to silence the inanimate object. She switched the phone to vibrate but the table just seemed to amplify the vibrations. Eventually without looking up, Jane muttered, "oh for heaven's sake just answer it Lisbon." The response must have been terse and to the point as the alerts ceased for a while.

Focussing his attention on the case Jane started to formulate some cogent ideas."Cho, did you notice the location of all these places forms a rough arc? The locus of the arc would be around the area by Sterling City - this could be the base they travel from. "

"It's a bit tenuous, but it's a starting point." Cho responded noncommittally.

Jane harrumphed at Cho's muted response. "So how far is it to the first site?"

"We're about 40 minutes out. The chances are most of the evidence will be all destroyed by now." Cho was starting to doubt the value of this trip at all, other than as a barnstorming exercise.

Jane just rolled his eyes at the negative response.

It was Lisbon's turn to pose some questions."Cho did anyone find anything on the CCTV footage - was the same vehicle seen at more than one site?"

Getting vaguely irritated at being the conduit for all communication, Cho tersely replied. "That's one for Wylie, why don't you call him?"

Despite the disjointed communication bit by bit they were whittling away at the problem, a functioning if not exactly well oiled machine.

Jane started to think out loud. "From what the notes say the pipes are buried, and the only above ground access is at the valves and pump stations. It would need a pretty big bomb to have any impact on the underground pipeline itself, and with all the automated systems these days the loss of pressure would be detected and the system would isolate the fractured section. The damage would be localised, and would have more long term effect on the local community and environment than on the oil company."

"What's your point?" Lisbon tried to cut to the chase.

"I'm starting to wonder if this is just a shot across their bows, a precursor of something more specific. Maybe the perpetrator isn't able to do more at this stage." Jane was assembling his mental jigsaw.

An inspection of the pump station at the first site revealed a well organised operation with about 10 workers; additionally it was remotely monitored by the pipeline operators. The storage tanks could have been targeted if this had been a serious attack. The security guard showed them pictures of the device, the detonator had been triggered when one of the buildings had been entered but the device never went off. The damage would have been cursory but the security alert had obviously caused major disruption for a day.

The story at the other sites was similar. The time and the heat were starting to take their toll on everyone, and Jane guessed there was little more to be learned. It had helped build up a mental picture of the operations, but had thrown up nothing concrete. It was unlikely to keep Abbott happy for long. Jane was more certain than ever that these attacks had been more of a warning nature, than designed to cause a major incident.

Jane reverted to driving on the way back, using the time to mull over some ideas. Monitoring the situation in the cabin behind him, he took some satisfaction from the annoyance on Lisbon's face as her phone started vibrating again in the early evening. She snatched it up and tapped out a quick response, but the alerts kept coming in. Cho looked up to catch Jane's smirk in the mirror, they both knew Lisbon hated being harried and lover boy would be booking a one way ticket to a broken heart, if he started being too needy.

Needing to give Abbott an update, Cho tried to piece together what they had got so far. Abbott had a short fuse when he was under pressure, and wouldn't be happy unless they had a plan to present to him.

"So what we tell Abbott? What's the plan?" Cho looked towards Jane for an answer.

"Uum difficult to say much at the moment, it's largely speculative." Jane replied unhelpfully.

"He needs something to tell Schultz; at the very least we need a plan of action." Cho insisted.

"The question is will this be the end of it for a while, or will he just keep on poking the oil company?"Jane said speculatively

Lisbon interjected at this point, now feeling fully back on her game, and appreciating Cho's need for something more substantial to present. "Surely if he just keeps doing this the impact will lessen. Wouldn't he let one of the devices go off, just to prove he can if he wants to?"

Jane looked up appreciatively. "Nice to have you back Lisbon, good point."

The back handed compliment flustered Lisbon briefly, the implied slight about her earlier contribution did not go unnoticed. Determined to make up for that, Lisbon pushed her point. "So what is stopping him targeting the company direct?"

"We're assuming it is a he?" Cho checked.

"Yes, the 'Sons' reference implies that." The consultant confirmed.

"Maybe he's studying here or under contract?" Lisbon suggested.

"The air force base is a major training institution. He could be based there. It wouldn't be inconceivable he'd have some knowledge of explosives." Cho mulled over the possibilities.

"It's a long way for him to travel, and he couldn't keep explosives on the base." Lisbon said sceptically.

"Maybe they have connections in the area; somewhere they could base themselves occasionally?" Cho suggested. Lisbon conceded that was a plausible suggestion.

"So we have a plan, check the video footage, cross reference oil and air force personnel and look for other links to the area." Jane concluded breezily. Now they had something to present to Abbott he could get back to some serous thinking.

Unasked Jane pulled off the main route to the FBI HQ, and pulled up outside Lisbon's house to drop her off. Tacitly acknowledging they knew she had no transport. Both Cho and Jane studiously ignored the second car parked outside, as Lisbon hastily retreated. Judging by Lisbon's demeanour, the company was neither expected nor wanted.

* * *

Lisbon slipped her key into the lock with new found resolve; she had to get a grip on this. She couldn't let her personal life reflect on her work. The candle lit room and aroma of her favourite Thai takeaway greeted her. As if she would want to eat at this time of night she thought grumpily.

Pike must have used the spare key on her car keys to let himself in, when he got her car dropped off. They certainly hadn't reached the stage in their relationship where she would give him a key, and the presumption irritated her.

Sprawled all over _her_ sofa with some old movie playing on the TV, Pike looked up eagerly as she came in. "Hey babe, come over here." He motioned to the space beside him.

"What are you doing here Marcus?" Lisbon barely disguised her irritation. It had been full on all day, the suggestive texts first thing, and later the impatient questions about when she was coming home, had all added to her annoyance. Thank heavens no one had seen her phone; she would have died of embarrassment.

"Thought you might appreciate a nice welcome home." Pike raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Not tonight Marcus. I'm on a case and need to concentrate on that for now and besides I'm tired and just need to rest."

Pike slipped behind her and started to massage her shoulders then rubbed his cheek against hers. "I know just how to get rid of tension like that." To his surprise he felt her body stiffen. Pike was many things, but would never impose himself on someone who was not receptive.

Pulling away slightly, he could see she was tired and cranky, and maybe this hadn't been his best plan.

"OK Teresa, I can see you're not in the mood tonight. There's some food in the kitchen if you're hungry. I'll leave you alone for now; maybe we can do something tomorrow?" Pike opted for a tactical retreat for now.

Lisbon appreciated his gesture and smiled gratefully, but wasn't going to let things go entirely. "Marcus, when I'm at work I don't want to be interrupted. It's taken me years to overcome the barriers facing women, and I need to act professionally. Please don't keep bombarding me with messages it makes me look stupid."

"I get it Theresa. I'll contact you sometime later tomorrow afternoon to firm up arrangements." Pike would have to re-evaluate his strategy.

Left alone with her thoughts, Lisbon really wasn't sure how she'd gotten herself into this mess. Far from rallying Jane to the cause, he had retreated into defeated cynicism when she had started dating Pike. Annoyed by his apparent acceptance, Lisbon had tried to justify her actions to herself, and had just become defensive and resentful towards Jane. It was one unholy pickle and one entirely of her own making.


	3. Chapter 3 : Hush Hush

**Chapter 3 – Hush Hush**

Determined to make up for the previous day's debacle Lisbon was in bright and early, she even made tea for Jane as a peace offering. A half smile crossed his face in acknowledgement, as he continued ploughing through the mountain of information Wylie had presented him with.

There was no doubting the young geek's unique talent, but he needed to learn how to use those skills in a more focussed manner. Jane had taken quite a shine to Wylie's infectious sense of fun, and had started teaching him the noble game of chess, in an attempt to discipline him in the long game.

In no time at all, in advance of every move, Wylie could compute the standard outcomes. However he wasn't playing a standard player, and Jane's random curve balls, thrown in to test him, would send him off kilter. Naturally Jane played competitively, it wasn't in his nature to let anyone win, and they enjoyed some animated tussles, as Wylie predictably got over excited at times. It was just the medicine Jane needed, an amusing diversion that he had come to look forward to.

Cho would watch on with amusement, often leaving them playing late into the night. His only warning to Wylie was that on no account were they to play for money, he wouldn't have Jane fleecing the younger man.

* * *

Predictably Abbott had been dissatisfied with their feedback; Schultz wouldn't buy that line, and he insisted Cho and Fischer work together the following day. They set off to Yellowsrose HQ in Houston to follow up some potential leads. Now Fischer and Cho got on well together, Cho saw her for the sassy bright woman she was. Unlike Jane and Lisbon he had no preconceptions about her, and away from the office she was an inveterate gossip and amusing company. Cho rarely contributed to her knowledge bank, but he listened keenly. Information was currency, no matter what the source.

A curl of a smile crossed Fischer's face before she innocently asked "So how were things in the Love Bug yesterday?"

An uncharacteristic grin crossed Cho's face, Kim had a wicked sense of humour. "Seriously, you're asking that question?"

"Anyone can see Pike's only a stop gap. Waste of a good man if you ask my opinion. Single, moderately good looking – what's not to like?" She wouldn't have been averse to a bit of attention from him, not that she normally fraternised in the office.

"It's none of my business." Cho maintained the party line.

"Yeah, pull the other one Cho." She laughed derisively.

He just looked impassively at her, a slight twinkle in his eye.

"Why Kimball Cho, don't you try and fool me. Your eyes follow them constantly, when you think no one's looking. There's nothing about those two that you don't know." She arched an eyebrow knowingly at him.

The corner's of his lips quirked, it was hard to resist Kim.

Fischer slowly crossed her endless legs and lowered the tone of her voice slightly, well aware of the effect it would have on Cho. "There's no point playing hard to get with me Kimball, it's a long way to Houston and I can be _very_ persuasive." She knew how to use all the tools at her disposal to great effect, and enjoyed winding up Cho. It was good to see him squirm occasionally.

Cho swallowed slightly at the sound of that, 90% sure she was just teasing, but he wasn't wholly immune to her charms. Without Jane's skills to turn the question back on the asker, Cho opted for the silent approach, and let Fischer try her best.

"Ok have it your way Kimball. Let's play guess and tell. Jane's not the only one who can read faces, even one as impenetrable as yours my inscrutable friend."

"So let's guess - Lisbon gave Jane the silent treatment." A hint of a smile from Cho confirmed Fischer's theory. "Ok so far so good."

"Jane put up a brave face to hide his sulk. Ah ha right again!" Fischer knew Lisbon's slight had wounded Jane.

"Lisbon looked a bit fragile, so he probably relented at some stage. I knew he was soft on her!" She added triumphantly, when Cho's reaction confirmed her suspicions.

"What is it with her, why does every man want to protect her?" Fischer really didn't get the effect Lisbon had on men.

"So it was more of a cold war than internecine warfare. How'm I doing so far Kimball?" Kim waited in vain for a response.

Cho pressed his lips together to suppress his amusement. Kim was incorrigible when she got started.

"Of course, anyone can see she's just using Pike, to make Jane show his hand." Fischer reflected.

Cho had no intention of going there.

"Come on Kimball. Are you seriously telling me there's nothing between Jane and Lisbon? I have good money riding on this. Hell she was one of his conditions of employment." Fischer pressed her case.

Deciding to go nuclear in an effort to shut Kim up, Cho went straight for his best artillery. "Well you dated him – you tell me?" Bullseye! That stopped her in her tracks. He didn't bother to hide his self satisfied smirk.

Fischer pursed her lips briefly before considering her response. "Well no doubt you read the case files, I was on a mission Kimball, just doing my job."

"Heard you did it very well." Cho retorted.

"You know me, always professional." Fischer was a cool customer.

"Above and beyond the call of duty I heard." Cho hinted at her overnight stay without going there.

"Is that so? Seriously Kimball, he was injured and worse for wear. Nothing happened." Cho would have to try harder than that to faze Kim Fischer.

If Fischer was perfectly honest there had been an attraction on both sides. At one point when Jane lay stretched out on his bed, oblivious to her attentions, she had been briefly tempted to throw caution to the wind and trust to chance. However she had a sneaking suspicion that Jane hadn't drunk anywhere near enough to get into that state, and wondered whether he was simply exercising his escape clause. Anyhow there was nothing for anyone to be embarrassed about. The injury was genuine, and she had to protect the merchandise, so it was mission accomplished on that score.

Fischer started admiring her elegantly manicured fingers. "One day you'll learn how to play this game Kimball - you don't always have to be such a straight arrow."

* * *

Jane and Lisbon toiled away, sifting through the information Wylie had given them. The atmosphere was slightly less strained than yesterday, and they managed to get a working communication going.

"So Wylie, what do we know about the people who have been made redundant? What are they doing now?" Jane was trying to find a way to work the mountain of data into a manageable pile.

"Seriously? Do you know how many people left? It would take ages to find all that out." Wylie's voice raised an octave in protest.

"Well you're the FBI, surely you have access to some thingamabob that can search out employment records?" Jane huffed impatiently.

"It might take some time." Wylie said doubtfully.

"I'm sure Abbott would draft in some extra hands if necessary." Jane thought that if they could ascertain who had moved on, and who may still be nursing a grudge, it may narrow the pool of potential suspects down further.

"Sanchez owes me a favour, I'll see how he's fixed." Wylie bounded off like an over exuberant puppy, to see who he could coerce into giving some temporary assistance. He reappeared in no time, accompanied by some equally sun starved people from the geek pool, who were all too happy to have the opportunity of an adventure with the infamous Patrick Jane. Seriously they needed to get out more.

Jane had the feeling they were living vicariously through Wylie, hoping one day to make the breakthrough from backroom to the front office. Not wanting to undermine Wylie's status among the lower ranks, Jane rose to his imperious best.

Hamming it up, he called them in close around Wylie's desk, as he enlisted them on a top secret operation. "Look this is all on the down low. Absolutely no one is to know about this. Right Agent Lisbon?"

Like a trooper Lisbon fell in naturally with her part, she nodded conspiratorially then with a look to Abbott's office she whispered "Especially you know who."

Wylie naturally went overboard, asserting his position in the geekdom. "You heard top secret."

The volunteers nodded enthusiastically, patiently waiting their mission. They accepted the drudgery of the task in hand with relish, it was a small price to pay for the kudos of being involved in one of Patrick Jane's operations.

Finally Jane pulled them together in a huddle, looked around dramatically to establish they were still alone, then raised a finger to his lips. "Remember not a word to anyone. Strictly hush, hush." With a parting wink he made a stage exit, leaving Wylie to marshal his troops into order.

Even Lisbon cracked a smile at that one, she guessed from the general direction Jane was heading that he was going to the kitchen. He would wait the prerequisite time before making his entrance. She wryly observed how effortlessly Jane could turn the charm on when it didn't matter, but was so reticent when it did. They really must find a way to thank Wylie's helpers, she guessed they would be working through their breaks to cover for the additional workload.

* * *

When Jane finally deigned to reappear, he took his place on the sofa and idly flicked through some papers before breaking the silence. "So what have you got so far Lisbon?" Jane asked evenly, he glanced over to her and met her raised eyes. She looked considerably better today; he guessed Pike hadn't been allowed to outstay his welcome.

Although he wouldn't admit his sense of relief, he was starting to feel a bit more confident about that dalliance fizzling out. Seriously how did a man who didn't know what a canapé was, think he could impress with fine dining? Pike's propensity for grand gestures might yet backfire, trying to bowl this maiden over was no easy task.

The better part of Jane knew he should be happy for Lisbon, but the selfish gene predominated. He knew he should have had an honest talk with Lisbon before now, if only to explain why he hadn't rushed into something he wasn't quite ready for. Quite frankly once they had settled back into their old routine, the imperative to cross the Rubicon wasn't quite so pressing.

The Krystal Markham case hadn't helped either - Lisbon knew how he worked, and shouldn't have taken that seriously, but it seemed to bolster her insecurities. She threw herself into her work, determined to stand on her own two feet. Then just as Jane was ready to take some tentative steps, Pike came on the scene.

It had all been going in the right direction, admittedly as slowly as an oil tanker trying to change course, and then in the blink of an eye Lisbon was off with some stranger. Jane hadn't seen that coming. He rued the day he had offered his help to the art team.

Turning his attention back to the case in hand, Jane listened intently to Lisbon's spiel. She was typically thorough in her analysis. "I've tried to break this down into manageable groups. Employees laid off by gender, then age groups – if a son is involved I'm assuming the parent would at least be in the 40+ age group. Then there are employees who have been disciplined or dismissed, and finally anyone with an outstanding claim against the company."

Jane nodded approvingly, "if Wylie can ascertain who's back in employment, I think we can put that group to one side for now, and concentrate on currently unemployed."

Lisbon switched to the secondary investigation she'd undertaken."The security footage shows some common delivery vehicles at more than one of the target sites. I don't suppose we should be surprised at that – they would all be buying from the same suppliers. I've got someone following through on that just to eliminate it, but I don't think it's necessarily relevant." The information was delivered with clarity and her reason was sound.

"So what about foot traffic, or motorbikes?" Jane explored all the possibilities.

"Now that is more interesting." Lisbon pulled out some close up photographs. "There's an old motorbike that showed up on some of the footage, can't read the plates they're messed up. It's just a standard bike nothing unusual about it, but we're pulling up a list of those registered in the county. The clothing looks generic and is nothing of note, but if you look carefully at the sweater there is something on the shoulder that looks like military insignia. We can't make it out in detail, the angle is too oblique. Even with enhancement it's still fuzzy, but it may back up Cho's theory."

Jane peered closely at the detail, Lisbon was right it was certainly an angle worth following. Hopefully it was a means of narrowing the suspect pool down even further, when they had cross referenced all their lists. They carried on with their systematic trawl, Jane being uncharacteristically involved in the detail of the case.

Lisbon made contact with the Air Force Base command, to explain the nature of their enquiry. She requested details of all personnel granted leave on the dates in question, together with details of all male personnel in the target age group. Needless to say, she met with considerable inter agency opposition, despite her attempts to mollify them with assurances that there were no links to activities on the base itself. Nevertheless the base command demanded to speak to someone beyond Lisbon's pay grade before releasing any information, so Lisbon sought out Abbott to facilitate the process.

* * *

In Lisbon's absence, Jane noticed Wylie watching one of the new recruits from the next floor. A pert, dark haired girl had ventured onto their territory to deliver some files to Fischer's desk. It wasn't the first time Jane has seen Wylie's eyes wander in that particular direction.

"Just say hello." He advised.

Wylie jumped "What, no, really - do you think so?"

Jane laughed. "Well you'll never know unless you try."

Wylie just shook his head vigorously. "She's well out of my league."

"Well if you're going to be negative, you'll never get anywhere. Just be yourself. You've got two chances, she'll either like you or she won't, but at least you won't be sitting here wondering what if?" It sounded so easy when Jane put it like that.

Lisbon caught the tail end of the conversation. Oh the irony of Jane telling Wylie to take a chance, at least he hadn't ventured into accordion and toaster territory.

"Taking notes from the grandmaster?" Lisbon acerbically quipped to Wylie.

Wylie coloured slightly. "I need all the help I can get." He shrugged in an endearing, self deprecatory manner.

"You carry on like that and you'll be just fine." Lisbon assured him.

"There you are Wylie, now you know the way to a woman's heart. I wish I'd known it was so easy." Jane muttered sarcastically. Uncharacteristically he cast an accusatory look in Lisbon's direction.

Lisbon's eyes flashed angrily, if the jackass didn't know what this woman wanted, maybe he should have asked. Feeling her ire rising, Lisbon turned her back on Jane and hammered out some emails to the airbase, venting her fury out on her keyboard.

Pike had been as good as his word, and hadn't bothered her all day, so when he finally called she was receptive to his call. "Hi Marcus, yes we're still on for tonight."

Not bothering to lower her voice she exclaimed. "Wow! La Cuisine. How did you get a reservation there? That's the real hot ticket at the moment." There was a hushed exchange that culminated in Lisbon saying just loud enough for Jane to hear. "Well you'll just have to wait and see what I'm wearing tonight, but I'll be sure to make it special."

She rang off, studiously ignoring Jane and settling straight down to her work. It was a late booking, so there was no need to leave particularly early. She didn't want to attract any more attention on that front.

Six o'clock came, and they were still waiting for some of the information to come back. Lisbon and Jane had each pursued their own lines if enquiries, the lines of communication being temporarily suspended.

Jane looked at his watch. "There's no point you hanging on, I'll wait for the feedback from the airbase and we can pick it up again in the morning."

Having overheard Lisbon's conversation, as he was no doubt intended to, Lisbon's presence was a bit like an open sore to him. The sooner it was out of sight the better. Jane was kicking himself for his slip; it had all gone downhill from there.

Determined not to appear to be walking away from a half done job, Lisbon insisted she was kept updated of new developments. Jane nodded his agreement, though it would have to be really important for him to risk her wrath on that front. As he watched Lisbon pack her bag, Jane mused out loud, letting on he had heard her exchange with Pike."So Nouvelle Cuisine Lisbon? I wouldn't have thought that was your thing. Artfully arranged snippets of food, barely enough to satisfy a bird let alone a hungry woman."

Lisbon immediately went on the defensive."It's one of the best places in town, a real treat."

"I believe the canapés are exceptional – Pike's favourites I believe." Jane couldn't resist the dig, though he knew he'd regret it later.

Lisbon flushed with anger, she snarked. "Well at least his idea of a good night out isn't takeaway from a roadside truck."

"Don't knock it." Jane retaliated "You may want to stop at one on the way back for some real food."

Snatching her bag, Lisbon left without further ado. Jane looked up to see Wylie staring wide eyed at his screen, pretending he hadn't witnessed the scene played out so publicly.

Jane threw his papers angrily on the sofa, and took refuge in the washroom to recover his composure. What the hell had come over him? Lisbon had reeled him in there, and he'd unthinkingly taken the bait.

* * *

 **A/N** I've no idea about the protocol between the military and FBI so you may need to give me some leeway on this.


	4. Chapter 4 : Franglais

**Chapter 4 - Parlez vous Franglais?**

For all the show Lisbon put on for Jane's benefit, she wasn't entirely looking forward to her big night out with Marcus. Firstly it was mid week, and she was mindful of not letting her performance slip at work again. Additionally Marcus was in danger of coming on too strong, Lisbon would have been more than happy with a more modest eatery, and dreaded to think of the cost of the meal.

Independent to a fault, Lisbon hated feeling under an obligation to anyone; her offer to go Dutch on the meal had been immediately refused. "I just want to show you a good time Teresa; you deserve to be spoiled occasionally. Just enjoy it."

On face value she couldn't argue with what he said. It was just a treat, but she had no doubt what Marcus was expecting for dessert. She looked at herself approvingly in the mirror, simple elegance, nothing flashy or revealing, make up discrete but slightly heavier than her day wear, hair artfully tumbling in carefully arranged curls.

The problem was going to be trying to control Pike when he arrived; at this juncture the merchandise was for display purposes only, and not for touching. It had taken long enough to achieve this effect and she didn't want him messing it up.

Of course Marcus came armed with the flashiest bunch of flowers, and wasted no time nestling behind her as she filled a vase with water. She could feel his expectations rising; he wanted everything to be perfect tonight. Pushing him away gently, she carried the flowers over to the table and reached to get her bag, only to be encompassed by Pike's arms again.

"God you look gorgeous tonight Teresa." He whispered hoarsely in her ear, as he slowly ground into her."You're one hell of a beautiful woman, and I'm proud to call you mine." His hand inevitably slipped to her zipper.

Sensing Pike was ready for his _apéritif_ ; Lisbon nimbly sidestepped and laughed it off. "Hey Mister, it took long me to get into this dress, without you trying to undress me."

Lisbon wasn't entirely happy with Marcus laying claim on her. As a precautionary measure she had pre-empted the possibility of his rising ardour, by booking an early taxi. "From what I hear La Cuisine give your table away if you're even 5 minutes late, so we had better make a move on." Firmly guiding Marcus out of the door, the first hurdle had been cleared.

In a misguided bid to impress Lisbon, Pike had already incurred the wrath of the waiter by clicking his fingers and calling Garcon. To Pike's frustration the waiter studiously ignored him, seemingly impervious to Pike's presence.

In his austere white starched shirt and jet black suit, the waiter was a picture of studied indifference. Food was an art to him, not to be sullied by fawning obsequiousness. Etiquette needed to be observed by both sides, and sometimes customers had to be reminded of the difference between servility and service. Finally he made his way over to their table. Inclining his head slightly, he coolly but politely enquired _"_ _Vous-avez choisi?"_

Without consulting Lisbon, Pike ordered a platter of Oysters for two for starters. If anything Pike's French was worse than Lisbon's, so they looked for meals they recognised on the menu. Lisbon had played safe with the Saumon, and Pike followed suit with the steak. Wary of showing his ignorance, Pike pointed at the items on the menu, rather than risking mispronouncing the meals. He confidently pointed to the fancy French fries that they quaintly called Pomfret - he assumed that must be French for pommes frites.

The waiter pulled a face at Pike's choice, and shrugged his shoulders in that way that only French waiters can. C'est la vie! Who was he to question a customer's choices, especially when they were paying these prices.

Although Lisbon had explained to Pike that she couldn't stomach oysters, he wouldn't take no for an answer. Leaning across the table suggestively, he started talking about the food of love. He could talk as much as he liked, but she wasn't having one.

Putting one hand on her shoulder, he raised an oyster towards her lips. "If you just open wide and take it down slowly, you won't gag. It's just a bit salty. The first time is always the worst." Pike stroked her arm encouragingly.

Lisbon crinkled her nose in confusion, and looked at Pike suspiciously. Was he for real? Narrowing her eyes defiantly, she glared across the table. No slimy sucker was getting near her mouth tonight.

Sensing things weren't going to plan; Pike dropped the subject and set about demolishing the platter himself. With a knowing look, he couldn't resist sharing the results of a recent study, which had concluded oyster's rare mix of amino acids really did stimulate the male libido.

Lisbon laughed nervously. Oh jeez, it was going to be a long night.

Assuming the worst was over, now the oysters had been and gone the widely anticipated entrée arrived. Pike looked puzzled at the grilled fish placed alongside his steak, assuming this was some French equivalent of surf 'n' turf.

Pike called the waiter back. "I think you've forgotten my side order."

A supercilious smile crossed the waiter's face, as he realised Pike's mistake. "Sir you have exactly what you ordered." He replied in clipped English.

Lisbon kicked Marcus under the table, before it got too embarrassing. "I've always wanted to try Pomfret, such an unusual fish."

Undeterred Marcus persisted in his request for fries.

The fish complete with head stared mockingly at Pike. The waiter condescendingly insisted. "Pas possible! La Cuisine ne sert pas des frites."

Turning on his heel he marched away with Gallic distain. Sacrebleu! They let anyone into the restaurant these days.

Determined to waste nothing, Pike manfully tackled both meals. He had to admit the fish wasn't bad. Lisbon just shuddered at the sight of him putting that much food away, and dreaded to think of the effects of all that on his digestion. In fact Pike was already starting to look decidedly queasy. In the taxi home he unbuttoned the top button of his trousers, and rubbed his distended stomach. So much for the food of love, any romance of the occasion was ruined.

Seeing Pike was decidedly hors de combat, Lisbon directed the taxi driver to Pike's home. When Lisbon stayed in the taxi, Pike's face fell. "You're not coming in Teresa? Some dessert perhaps?" He said hopefully, before another cramp gripped his stomach, and he darted to the door.

Perhaps Lisbon should have felt guilty about leaving him, but the evening had been an unmitigated disaster and she had little sympathy for him.

* * *

There was an awkward moment when Jane and Pike stepped into the lift together, the following morning.

"Pike." Jane nodded his head briefly by way of acknowledgement, and rocked slightly on his heels as he sometimes did in awkward situations.

Unusually Pike didn't respond. There was a forced politeness between them that veiled their mutual dislike. Peering over at Pike, Jane realised he looked a bit green around the gills. A fact confirmed when Pike suddenly hit the button for the next floor, and ran out muttering "Bad oysters."

"Zut Alors." Jane muttered, glad they had their own facilities on his floor, as he watched Pike disappear into the men's room. Oysters he mused, they didn't look like they'd had the desired effect on Pike. A self satisfied smile broke out on his face as he stepped out of the elevator.

Cho looked up. "Morning Jane, you're looking very chipper."

"I just have a feeling it's going to be a good day. Lisbon already in?" Jane noticed her screen was already switched on.

"Yea, early start by the looks of it." If Cho knew anymore he wasn't saying.

Jane glanced at Fischer, she would know the inside story before long, and wouldn't be able to resist sharing it.

Emerging from the kitchen, Lisbon placed a steaming coffee on her desk. Jane noted her appearance spoke nothing of a night of passion. She had clearly spent plenty of time on her morning routine, and was looking particularly fetching with her softly curled hair and softly draping blouse.

Determined not to repeat yesterday's performance he calmly approached her. "Morning Lisbon, did you see those files I left out for you last night?"

Appreciating the return to civility, Lisbon picked up one of the files. "Yes this certainly narrows it down a bit, even if it doesn't prove anything conclusively. Some of these surnames are very common round here, it may just be coincidence."

Jane nodded approvingly. "I agree, we need a more concrete link than this. Rather than trawl through the complete list, let's see if we can eliminate it further by links to the local community. See who owns property in the area. Did the airbase supply the information requested?"

"Not in its entirety, they're still dragging their heels a bit. We're still waiting for details of who had leave around that time." Lisbon responded with her usual efficiency.

Wylie paused briefly to assess the situation, on his return to the office. So far so good, it looked as things were back to normal. "Morning" he said cheerily as he took his place at his desk, before checking his email to see what the latest searches had brought in.

They each continued their own lines of enquiry; it was an arduous and seemingly never ending task. Even Jane had fallen back on old fashioned methods of elimination; his spark of genius was dimmed by the sheer volume of data.

* * *

Hearing Fischer's raucous laugh from the kitchen, Jane drifted over for some much needed refreshment. Judging by the conspiratorial nature of the assembled throng, Fischer had been sharing some juicy gossip. On Jane's arrival, all bar Fischer dispersed. Jane knew he wouldn't have to say anything; Fischer would be bursting to tell him her news.

"Tough news about Pike." She started as an opening gambit.

Affecting an air of disinterest, Jane dunked his tea bag for the prerequisite time. "Pike?" He glanced innocently at Fischer.

"Apparently Pike over indulged on the oysters." She let the insinuation sink in, before recounting events of the night in full.

Unable to see the irony of the situation, Pike had confided in one of his art squad colleagues, and the news had spread like wildfire. Overcome by recurring nausea, Pike had left for the day, leaving Lisbon to field the slings and arrows of misfortune.

While at no stage encouraging Fischer, Jane took on the information with an even mix of delight at Pike's hubris contributing to his downfall, and a sense of disappointment for Lisbon. Having been the Queen Bee for so long, Fischer found it difficult sharing the limelight with Lisbon, and although she didn't dislike Lisbon per se, she certainly wasn't averse to having some fun at her expense.

Jane coolly looked at Fischer, amazed he could ever have contemplated an entanglement with her. She must be a much better actress than he gave her credit for; island Kim had been completely different. Either that or Jane had overlooked her flaws in his desperation for company. It was obvious Fischer resented his closeness to Lisbon, and took a perverse pleasure in their recent estrangement. She would be sadly disappointed if she aspired to fill that void, there had only been two women in Jane's life who he truly had feelings for.

* * *

Aware of the general hilarity, Cho and Jane abstained from joining in out of respect for Lisbon. The whispers as Lisbon passed by, and the sudden outbreak of Franglais added to her discomfiture. Sensing Jane's hand in orchestrating this, she sullenly returned to her desk. Refusing to give Jane the satisfaction of raising the subject.

Jane watched on with a degree of sympathy, none of this was Lisbon's doing. Being intensely private, she would hate being the subject of insidious gossip. Unsure of her footing in the FBI, Lisbon was unable to laugh things off so easily. The CBI had been much less formal, and she would have either joined in the laughter, playing it for comic effect, or she would have relied on a targeted barb from her acid tongue to kill the matter dead. Instead she suffered in silence; Jane guessed he was being blamed, as once more she mistook his motives.

Abbott's door opened and he motioned in Lisbon's direction "Chez moi." There was the faintest of smiles on Abbott's face; no doubt he had more news from the air base.

Most times Wylie's childlike naiveté was endearing, occasionally it was downright infuriating. Guessing he had missed something, he leant over to Lisbon's desk and whispered. "What's with all the French today? "

Jane screwed up his eyes, as he vainly tried to conceal his mirth; even Cho's impassive mask of stone was starting to crack.

Lisbon just dropped her head to her hands. "I suggest you ask the enfant terrible." She added with a nod in Jane's direction.

"Jeez, even I'm at it now. Crap!" She exclaimed.

"Merde." Cho calmly corrected her.

Her head shot round. Judas!

Wearily she made her way to Abbott's office, trying desperately to block out everything but the work.

Finding Jane alone on her return to her desk, she cast an accusing glance in his direction. Unwilling to take the blame for Pike's lack of discretion, Jane calmly pronounced. "You're blaming the wrong person here. I would never set you up for this degree of ridicule." He held her eyes unwaveringly, with a touch of bitterness he added. "The source of your problem lies closer to home."

Jane could lie at will, but Lisbon did not doubt his veracity in this instance.

"I suppose you've heard everything?" She asked quietly.

He nodded slowly; words would only make matters worse.

"You had to be there to believe it." She said falteringly, suddenly feeling the need to share with someone, albeit the most inappropriate confidant in the circumstances. The memories of the night flooded back, and as she stared into Jane's concerned face, it all started to take on comic proportions. She started shaking with hysterical laughter.

Jane smiled benevolently, as all the pent up frustration manifested in Lisbon's outpouring of mirth. He knew she would feel better once it was all out in the open.

Et viola, problem solved! Well at least that one, and Pike seemed to be doing a very good job of sorting out the other problem himself, without any help from Jane.

Jane was cautiously optimistic on that front.

* * *

A/N A pretty plot free chapter, that took on a life of its own. Blame Google translate for any unintended faux pas.


	5. Chapter 5 : Pandora's Box

**Chapter 5 – Pandora's box**

A long relaxing soak, a bit of maintenance here and there, add a glass of Zinfandel and it was the recipe for a perfect evening. De-stressed and taking advantage of some downtime, Lisbon applied the final coat of pink nail polish to her toes, while the mud mask worked its magic on her face. Undecided whether to dig out Magnum Force or Sudden Impact, Lisbon was rudely disturbed by the intrusive sound of the door bell. Screwing her face up in annoyance, she trudged across to the door, the toes separators still wedged in place. She squinted belligerently through the spy hole; some asshole was intent on spoiling her day.

Pike! What the hell was he doing here? Glancing round at the towels and garments strewn at random, she yelled. "Just a minute."

Scooting round as quickly as she could, the mess was quickly stuffed into the nearest cupboard. Catching sight of her face in the mirror, she hastily wiped off the mud mask, not quite at the stage of wanting to share the secret of her youthful looks.

Although she had spoken to Marcus to check he was ok, she hadn't seen him since their night out, and had assumed he would be resting up. The truth was she was in no hurry to see him, and she opened the door with a heavy heart, and a distinctly blotchy red face.

Looking none the worse for wear, Marcus greeted her enthusiastically, once he'd done a double take to check she had nothing contagious. The food in the bags he was holding was unmistakably from her favourite Thai restaurant on South Congress. Torn between the annoyance of him just turning up on her doorstep, and the sudden rumbling in her empty stomach, Lisbon overcame her desire to send Pike packing.

"Honestly Marcus you should have phoned." She said irritably, given half a chance he'd be moving in.

"Why are you hiding someone under the bed?" He quipped.

"I could have had plans." She'd wanted time to have a good think this weekend, without any added pressure.

"Oh babe, we can make some new plans together." Pike snaked his arms around her.

Predictably the evening went the usual way. It was bad enough watching the old movies in the first place, without the running commentary. This time prophetically it was _For Whom the Bell Tolls_ \- did Pike have a thing about Ingrid Bergman? Personally Lisbon was all in favour of _Brief Encounter_ at this juncture, especially as Pike insisted on sharing yet another interesting fact. Seriously did he think she cared that Gary Cooper's stunt horse was painted gray because the original horse had broken his leg?

Foreseeing another long barren spell ahead of her, Lisbon had no problem with one last drink at the watering hole. Although she knew they would have to have a serious talk over the weekend. There was no doubting Pike's virility; he could bang the big bass drum without breaking into a sweat. What he lacked in subtlety, he compensated for with enthusiasm.

Ironically it was his inability to stop talking, even in the throes of ecstasy, that finally sounded the death knell of their relationship when he uttered those three little words. Lisbon just froze at his declaration of love. Too far gone to be aware of her sudden inertia, Pike came huffing and puffing like a runaway train. Feeling Lisbon limp beneath, him he mistook her catatonia for boneless satisfaction.

"Did the earth move for you babe?" He asked breathlessly, misinterpreting the faraway look on her face.

Still reeling from his utterances Lisbon smiled weakly, and rolled over giving some trite reassurances about Pike's performance. Seriously did he want marks out of ten? She diplomatically opted to feign sleep before Pike recovered in time for an encore.

Love! Where did that come from? Hell, she wasn't even sure she liked him some days. This was getting out of hand. He was racing away at top speed, while Lisbon was still trying to find reverse gear. Lisbon resolved to deal with this before the weekend was out.

Sleep eluded her, and rather than fend off Pike's morning glory, she slipped out of bed and put on her running gear. Pike reached out to the empty side of the bed and opened his eyes groggily. "Babe come back to bed."

"Sorry, I promised to meet up with some of the guys for a run this morning." Considering Jane had always said she was the most honest person he knew, the lie tripped off her lips with ease.

"I can give you all the exercise you want." He pulled back the covers, as if it needed further explanation. "You can do the work, if you want to work on those hips of yours."

Instinctively Lisbon looked to the mirror to check if she had put any on weight; her running shorts had felt tighter than usual. No wonder with all the meals Pike was giving her - that man was a feeder.

Pike looked south meaningfully. Lisbon just shuddered at the memory of Pike yelling Yee Haw at the crucial moment, last time she'd bought a ticket to ride.

"Sorry Marcus, I promised. Just make sure everywhere is locked, if I'm not back before you leave." She left without looking back.

Lisbon pounded away at the pavements contemplating her dilemma, falling back on the old tried and trusted way of working out her frustrations. If you wanted to be swept off your feet there was nothing wrong with Marcus, but Lisbon would never fit that mould.

It was impossible not to draw comparisons with Jane. Marcus was a regular honest guy, where Jane was devious and scheming. Where Marcus would protect her, Jane would more likely hide behind her. Both were founts of useless knowledge, but where she would linger on the words of the one, she would tune out the words of the other. How could you compare the effortless charm of the charlatan with the honest endeavours of the tryer? Crucially Marcus was available and interested; she didn't know where she stood with Jane on either count.

She could kid herself that this was her last chance to settle down, but to what? The truth was she liked that frisson of danger that Jane brought to the party. Pike was honest, reliable, but safe, and more than a bit boring.

No she couldn't do it - he had to go!

She really sucked at relationships. The only one she wanted wasn't on offer, and hell she didn't even know if she was capable of making that work. She had so had it with men. Maybe she should start to cultivate more female friends. Carol from the 3rd floor had been checking her out in the gym last week, so there were options. There was no need to settle for the ordinary.

Maybe she should get a cat...

Surprised that Marcus hadn't tried to contact her, Lisbon checked her phone. It had been turned off -no doubt who'd done that. Sure enough there were some texts from Marcus; the final one included a photo. Eugh! Oh and there was a voicemail from Jane, she wondered what that was about.

* * *

Stopping short of hypnotism, Jane did everything he could to hone Wylie's powers of concentration, in preparation for the gaming contest with the guys from the 1st floor. Although a proficient gamer his tendency to be distracted was Wylies's downfall. Jane knew he would go to pieces if that pretty young thing that he had taken a fancy to, was anywhere in the vicinity. There was a lot of pride at stake, and Abbott had let it be known that he expected them to win; he had money riding on it. No pressure there then. Declining Wylie's invitation to go with them, despite the clumsy assurance that there were a lot of _older_ gamers, Jane settled down to read through the files which Wylie had hastily printed off before leaving.

The airbase had finally come through with the missing information, and when coupled with the other searches it boiled down to a manageable list of possibilities. Jane checked the locations on the map. With the prospect of another weekend alone with his thoughts, he contemplated taking the Airstream out for a spin to do some off the book reconnaissance. It wasn't as if he had anything planned, and he was only going to take a look. No one could take issue with that. Besides a change was as good as a rest, and it was time he had a better look around Texas.

Naturally his thoughts turned to Lisbon during the long drive. She had looked pretty hacked off with Pike the other night. With a bit of luck he'd be given his marching orders anytime soon. He pondered how he should react in the circumstances, too calmly and Lisbon would think he didn't care. Too enthusiastic and Lisbon would accuse him of crowing. They had never really got back to their easy going relationship of the CBI days. These days there was an underlying tension to everything they did.

Unsure exactly what Lisbon wanted from him, he considered the options. They'd been like an old married couple for years, but could that translate to anything deeper? Could they put aside the awkwardness of good friends sliding on shifting ground, and enter a more meaningful relationship? Lisbon's relationship with Pike had wakened Jane's dormant libido; it still wasn't something he was entirely comfortable with.

While he'd never been exactly comfortable with any of Lisbon's earlier dating forays, he recognised she had needs. This recent foray had shown a side of Lisbon he hadn't experienced, a more compliant, house trained version of the fiercely independent agent, who had finagled her way under his skin.

She wasn't even his type, she had no right to do that, but right from the beginning he had been drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Of course he loved her, but was he in love with her? He couldn't honestly answer that question. He just knew his world would be hollow and meaningless without her.

He mused over the different forms of love; the Ancient Greeks summed it up well. There was Agape, an unconditional love that accepts the object of affection for all their flaws; it involves an element of sacrifice, as nothing is expected in return. Then there was Phileo, a warm affectionate platonic love that draws you into committed friendship. Storge was a more familial kind of unconditional love, where friendship can ultimately translate to love. Finally there was Eros, a passionate, intense love that triggers declarations of love, but may be fleeting in its most heightened form, as it focuses as much on self gratification as on the other person.

There was no doubting they had both felt elements of all these forms of love with the exception of Eros in the past. Lisbon's love had been deep and unconditional and had been reciprocated for longer than she knew, though neither felt the need to vocalise it.

Jane guessed Lisbon wouldn't want to rush into anything after Pike; they could take things slowly, but they couldn't just fall back into the old ways. Pandora's box had been opened, and couldn't be ignored.

* * *

After an overnight sojourn and refuel, Jane worked out his strategy for checking out the locations identified. The Airstream was too big to hide, so he would assume the role of a traveller seeking directions to the nearest gas station. No one would think anything amiss with that.

The first location was a ramshackled affair that had seen better days. There was a beat up pickup outside that added to the impression of impoverishment. An elderly pair of sisters lived there, too old to tend their land properly, but reluctant to sell up the family home they had grown up in. Both they and their home had fallen into decline.

Delighted to have company, and past embarrassment at their penury, they willingly welcomed Jane into their abode. Using his considerable charm, they opened up to him in no time. They had few visitors and eked out a meagre existence from selling goods at the local farmers market. Hiding his distaste for the slightly stale brew that masqueraded as tea, Jane soon learned that their only living relations were their brother's children, one of whom was based at the nearby airbase. Though close to his aunts, it soon became apparent that the nephew was an infrequent visitor, and had more likely been pursuing interests of the heart on his recent leave. There was no mention of any family hardship, so Jane concluded they could strike that name of their list.

The second location also proved a dead end, so Jane made his way to the final location for the day before finding somewhere to settle for the evening. The farm buildings were miles from anywhere, and the traffic was sparse. It would be an ideal setting for a clandestine operation. Driving past slowly Jane noted it looked deserted, and he pulled up on the side of the road nearby.

The main dwelling was boarded up, so Jane looked round the outhouses for the tell tale signs of recent activity. The high winds had whipped up dust clouds, reminiscent of the dust bowl following the sustained period of drought, vehicle tracks would be covered almost as soon as they formed. Inside the nearest outhouse there were signs of recent footfall, several people judging by the variety of foot prints.

Jane's interest was quirked. The sensible course of action would be to report back to Cho or Lisbon, and call for backup, but this was Jane. Although the place felt a bit sketchy, there was no one about, and the temptation to nose around was too strong. There was nothing that indicated signs of a bomb factory, no tell tale off-cuts of wire or anything else.

The distant drone of a generator came from one of the far buildings, and Jane started to get a bad feeling. Perhaps this wasn't such a good move after all.

Checking all round for signs of activity, he made his way over to the source of the noise. As he neared the building there was no mistaking the pungent aroma emanating from within. Recognising that he had stumbled on something completely unexpected and potentially dangerous, he attempted to beat a hasty retreat. Jane had almost made his way back to the main dwelling, when he heard the sound of a vehicle pull up. He quickly whipped his phone out to call Lisbon. Damn the call went to voicemail.

"Er Lisbon, I think I may be in a spot of bother..."

..and then everything went black.

* * *

A/N This should be the end of dodgy metaphors as Pike exits stage left.


	6. Chapter 6 : Last Thoughts

**Chapter 6 – Last Thoughts**

It was futile straining against the ties that secured him to the chair; they just dug further into his wrists when he tried to pull free. Besides there was nowhere for him to go, the shadowy figures in the background blocked the only exit. Squinting in the glare of the lights, Jane instinctively took in the lay of his surroundings. The fact his captors chose to keep their anonymity behind the blinding lights, could only be interpreted as a plus point. Jane averted his eyes towards the floor, avoiding looking directly at his captors, waiting for the heavy silence to break.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" A voice demanded.

Guessing they'd already checked his wallet, he replied. "I'm Patrick Jane. I'm passing through. Got lost and stopped for directions." Thankfully he'd had the foresight to remove his FBI credentials, and could play the hapless traveller.

"Is that your RV down the road?" The interrogation continued.

"Yes, I'm on the way to San Angelo to meet up with my girlfriend." Jane had his habitual tidiness to thank for the fact that nothing incriminating had been left on view. No doubt they'd checked the Airstream over. If they'd found anything of interest, it was unlikely they would even be having this conversation.

"You've taken a roundabout route." The voice said suspiciously.

"Took a wrong turn somewhere." Jane opted to keep the replies short; any attempt at over explanation would fuel their suspicions.

"You certainly did." There was a barely audible murmur of voices in the shadows, and then Jane saw the room clear bar for one man.

Pulling his cap down low to shield his eyes, the rest of his face concealed behind a scraggly beard, the remaining man loomed forward ominously. Wordlessly he put his hand to his holster, and slowly withdrew his gun.

Jane swallowed hard. The deck was stacked firmly against him, no words could save him. His fate was sealed.

A cruel smile twisted across the man's lips as he poked Jane's chest hard with the gun, then jammed it under his chin. He revelled in seeing the captive's fear as he steeled himself for the worst.

One would have imagined that a host of thoughts would have passed through Jane's mind at that moment in time. The shadow of death lending some verisimilitude to the possibility of being reunited with Angela and Charlotte; for all he might dream, Jane knew that was a lie. It was never going to happen. When you're dead, you're dead. If there had been the remotest possibility of that, he would have joined them long ago.

In the final taut moments, Jane's thoughts were of his present life, and of Lisbon. A sense of calm descended, his ending would be quicker than he deserved. So be it. He closed his eyes keeping a vision of Lisbon in his mind.

The pressure under his chin eased off momentarily. This was it, he held his breath. Then out of the blue there was a sickening crack to the side of his head, as his captor proceeded to pistol whip him.

"You've got lucky this time dude, but this will teach you not to go poking around." Another blow to his shoulder sent him reeling, and then the chair tipped up. A few well aimed kicks sent a torrent of pain hurtling through his body. Despite his best efforts to block out the pain, the repeated blows distracted his mental processes from taking effect.

A faint pin prick in his arm sent him off into another world, where he was only vaguely aware of being man handled and dumped on a floor. As he floated in the neverland between consciousness and unconsciousness, he was dimly aware of a feeling of movement, the repetitive trundling of wheels on an uneven surface. He came round briefly to stillness and quiet, before sinking back into his hazy refuge.

The wheels of time turned, though the hours were not measured. All perspective of time and reality had been relinquished to the effects of the weed and injury. The pounding of his racing heart induced fleeting panic, as his chest felt ready to burst, until slowly everything settled down again.

The effects of the drugs may have partially mitigated the pain of his injuries, but the nagging pain started to make Jane more aware of his surroundings. There was the sound of voices, and as he peered through his half closed eyelids he could make out the looming silhouettes of two pairs of long legs, long wavy hair, and guns held in hands.

For some reason he was transported back to his youth, remembering his teenage crush on Charlie's Angels, and the iconic poster he had had taped on the trailer wall by his bed. Alex had teased him relentlessly about that. Humming slightly, he started to drift off again and enjoy the trip.

* * *

"Cho, It's Lisbon. Jane's in trouble." The exertion of the running coupled with a sense of dread that Jane wasn't answering his phone, made her breathless.

"What's he done this time?" There was a resigned tone to his voice, as his plans for the weekend went out the window.

"I've no idea. I've just found a message on my phone and can't contact him. Can you pick me up? I'm on Springdale Rd by Little Walnut Creek."

"Ok. Give me 20, I'll be there."

A perfectly manicured finger traced its way down Cho's chest, his heavy sigh indicated play time was over. With more than a degree of irritation Kim muttered "Jeez what's up with them this time?"

Cho slid off the bed. "We'll soon find out. Coming?"

"Guess so. What do we say?" Kim wasn't ready to be outed yet. They might hook up occasionally, in the absence of more appealing options, but Fischer had no desire to go public. At least Cho could be relied on to keep schtum.

"About what?" Cho stared blankly; he couldn't see what the problem was.

"About this." Kim looked at the rumpled bed.

"Nothing. Lisbon may wonder, but she won't ask." Cho made his way to the shower.

Not wanting to turn up with wet hair, Kim ruffled her hair into a casual style before getting ready.

Lisbon waited impatiently at the roadside, she felt somewhat exposed in her shorts and cropped top, and the chill was setting in now that she had stopped running. Cho's car swooped alongside the kerb; instinctively Lisbon went to open the front door, but stopped dead when she saw Fischer sitting there. Ok she'd come back to that later.

Hopping into the back seat she told Cho. "Wylie's trying to ping Jane's phone, I said we'd go straight to HQ, I've got a change of clothes there." Quite apart from her desire to get started, she had no desire to bump into Pike at home.

As soon as Wylie had located Jane's phone, he'd alerted the local PD. The cops had found Jane's phone, but he was nowhere to be seen. He must have dropped his phone when he was captured.

Fischer had been authorised by Abbott to get an FBI Helicopter to drop them off at the Goodfellow Airbase, and they would pick up a car from there. At 120 knots the Bell 412 would get them there in no time. Not being the best of fliers, Lisbon took a seat at the rear, while Cho sat up front with the pilot. Lisbon sat back with wry amusement, as she observed Cho was in his element conversing with the pilot, surely he wasn't showboating for Fischer's benefit?

It hadn't taken much working out what Jane was up to, once Wylie had filled them in with the information he'd given Jane. Lisbon felt an equal measure of worry and annoyance, hopefully Jane had just dropped his phone as he fled, and there was nothing more sinister going on.

* * *

When they arrived at the base, the latest update was not encouraging. There was evidence of a struggle, and a needle containing traces of TCH had been found by the upturned chair. Jane had inadvertently stumbled across one of the many hydroponic marijuana operations that had sprung up. Once they were set up they needed minimal input, and could be left unattended for days at a time. The low power LED lights helped keep the power requirements down, so it wouldn't raise any alarms with the utility companies, alternatively a generator could run the system even in the most remote locations. Although the costs of setting the operation up were significant, it was still possible to get $2000 for a pound of weed.

The biggest danger of being caught was exactly what had happened with Jane, some random visitor stumbling on an operation.

Although the operation was criminal, they had no wish to get involved in killing a hapless stranger. If Jane had been wearing his FBI badge, there is no doubt summary justice would have been meted out. His unconventional appearance and the Airstream had been enough to convince the criminals that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

By drugging him up they hoped it would discredit any story he might tell, it would just be assumed he had got into a fight over a drug deal and had experienced a bad trip. They'd planted weed in his RV, to back the story up, and dumped Jane and the RV in the middle of field at the back end of nowheresville, miles away from the pot farm.

Wylie called to inform Lisbon that the Airstream had been found and so it was that they came to be towering above Jane, as he lay stoned on the floor of the Airstream.

Jane made out the hum of voices in the background and made out two slim lithe figures hovering above him, he smiled inanely, returning to his Angel's fantasy.

A kick to his foot shattered his illusions. "Jane wake up." That rasping Chicago accent sounded familiar.

A stocky figure came up. "He's baked."

"Just look at the state of him. He's going to hurt like crazy when that wears off." A more sympathetic voice could be heard.

"Serves the god dammed fool right." The Chicago native said with some venom.

Another kick.

"Wake up Jane, I know you can hear us."

"Lisbon are you sure you should be doing that? He could be injured." Fischer was taken aback at Lisbon's reaction.

"He will be if he doesn't open his eyes soon." Lisbon muttered menacingly.

Fischer looked at Cho to back her up, he just shrugged. He was with Lisbon, they'd both had to rescue Jane's ass before, and he never learned.

Jane slowly opened his eyes."Lishbonn" He blinked and then tried to go back to sleep.

Lisbon motioned to the sink, and Cho passed her a glass of water. "Jane, wake up now." Her patience snapped and she threw the water over him.

"Yeah, thought that would wake you up. What the hell did you think you were doing?" She demanded.

Jane groaned at the rude awakening, reality started to hit when he saw the three agents staring stonily down at him. He closed his eyes again briefly before mustering his strength to try and move. Crap that hurt, his whole body ached, it was excruciating to move. He looked up pleadingly and held his hand out to Cho for a lift up, Cho crossed his arms firmly in response.

"He needs medical help." Seeing no help forthcoming from Cho or Lisbon, Fischer intervened and leant forward to help Jane sit up.

"Water - to drink." He added, looking warily at Lisbon. She passed him a bottle of water, which he downed thirstily. His mouth felt dry and parched.

"What sort of crazy stunt were you trying to pull this time?" Lisbon demanded. Her anger masked her very real concern at what might have happened. She felt sick at the thought of how close he'd been to getting killed. Cho's anger was rooted in the same feeling. They both thought the world of Jane, but he was a danger to himself at times. For all his brilliance, he rarely thought things through, assuming his ability to talk his way out of trouble would save the day.

"How far is it to the nearest hospital?" Lisbon could see he needed attention, if only a dose of painkillers. They couldn't afford to give him anything until the blood tests confirmed exactly was in his system.

It was an hour in either direction until they hit a major town, so they opted to make their way back to San Angelo. Cho drove the Airstream and Fischer followed behind in the car. Lisbon attempted to make Jane as comfortable as possible and clean him up a bit. They had assisted him up onto one of the bench seats, and Lisbon washed him down as best she could with a cloth and bowl. Her anger dissipated when she saw the extent of his injuries, she wrung the bloody cloth out in the bowl before applying it gently to his face. The cut above his eye had bled profusely but had congealed for now, though it may need stitches later.

It looked as if he had been sick at some stage, so she gently tried to remove his shirt. Jane giggled as he tried to fend off her hands, only stopping when the pain set in. Eventually Lisbon disrobed his upper half; she winced when she saw the extent of the bruising on his torso.

Still slightly stoned Jane smiled goofily as she tried to dress him in a clean shirt. Lisbon couldn't help but smile back, with all his controls stripped bare he looked younger and more endearing. The horror of what he had been through was still lost in the haze, when reality hit he would sink like a stone.

Gently feeding his arms into a shirt one at a time, Lisbon did up a couple of buttons to protect his modesty. She propped him up on some pillows then let him sleep it off until they reached the hospital. She sat alongside him to stop him falling over.

Cho observed approvingly through the mirror as he drove, satisfied that Lisbon's better nature had prevailed. The effects of the drugs were starting to wear off by time they reached the base, and Jane's face was creased with pain. His face had taken on a far more sombre look, as the memories started flooding back.

* * *

The blood tests showed he had been administered pure THC rather than a cocktail of drugs. They could start treating the pain without worry, as the cannabis and pain killers worked on different brain receptors. Cannabis is a muscle relaxant, whereas pain killers work on the pain signals being sent to the brain. As predicted some stitches were required, but apart from severe bruising Jane had escaped relatively unscathed.

Lisbon stayed with Jane, while Cho and Fischer returned to Austin. The doctors advised a precautionary overnight stay, Lisbon knew Jane wouldn't like that and went back to break the news to him. Though his eyes were closed, Lisbon knew he wasn't asleep, that much she had learned to recognise. She settled quietly in the seat by the bed, guessing he needed some time for reflection.

Jane's hand reached out for hers, she gently took his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. Jane inclined his head to Lisbon, and captured her eyes in his gaze.

"I thought I'd never see you again. Don't leave me Teresa." His face and words were stripped of artifice, though the meaning was open to interpretation.

"I won't Patrick." Lisbon replied without hesitation.

He settled back heavily against the pillow, his face relaxed into a hint of a smile. They remained quietly holding hands until sleep reclaimed him.


	7. Chapter 7 : Blue on Green

**Chapter 7 : Blue in Green**

The FBI had passed on the identity of the man linked to the pot farm to the base authorities, so they could act without delay. Under interrogation it became apparent that the suspect, Josh Carter, had never seen Jane before. There wasn't the remotest flicker of recognition when he was shown Jane's photograph.

As this didn't seem to be part of an organised crime operation, the local PD would follow up on the rest of the case. Carter fell under the jurisdiction of the military authorities, Jane and Lisbon were present purely as observers; their only interest was identifying Jane's attacker.

When presented with the evidence of the forensic tests, Carter's resistance buckled. What had originally seemed like an offer he couldn't refuse, turned into something more serious that he couldn't walk away from. Carter took his payment in kind, and had a lucrative sideline dealing in pot. Although his actual involvement was minimal, he was still culpable as he had benefited from the fruits of their endeavours.

The base instigated a lock down while they conducted a search of the accommodation. Despite the fact that a growing number of states had opted to legalise marijuana, federal institutes were subject to federal laws. Servicemen were liable to court martial, if they were found in possession of the substance. To keep cadets on the straight and narrow, they were subject to random drug tests, and stiff penalties in the event they tested positive for marijuana. Inevitably a few cadets were caught out, and they immediately fingered Carter as the guilty party.

Jane was still unable to identify his assailant from the photographs of the Carter's known associates, although he was certain he would recognise them if they met in person. However controlled the individual may be, if they met there would always be a flicker of recognition that would betray them.

* * *

Abbott called to let Lisbon know the bomber had struck again, as Lisbon had predicted finally one of the bombs had been detonated. No one was injured, but one of the pumps at a pumping station had been damaged. Abbott insisted they to go check out the crime scene without delay, because of the political fallout. Fingers were being pointed at terrorists groups in the media, and in the hot bed of frenzied xenophobia, hot heads only needed the flimsiest of excuses to round on minorities. This needed to be nipped in the bud straight away.

Jane was unable to drive because of his medication, and Lisbon refused point blank to drive the Silver Bucket, so they would be reliant on hire cars and motels for the next few days. Although nothing further had been said between them, the tension had largely evaporated. Lisbon understandably didn't mention Pike, but Jane had seen her send his calls to answer phone. Obviously Jane didn't know what was said in private, but Lisbon was patently irritated by Pike's calls.

Jane decided to wait for Lisbon to bring up the subject, he was in no rush to have a heart to heart, and he just wanted to get back to being friends for now.

Despite his grogginess, Jane insisted on being with Lisbon rather than staying behind, for some reason he yearned for company. The gentle hum of the car engine conspired with the effects of the drugs to compound his drowsiness. A benign smile crossed Lisbon's face, as the gentle purr of Jane sleeping caught her attention.

Lisbon retuned the radio to a jazz station, and the plaintive sound of Miles Davis' trumpet playing Blue in Green permeated the airwaves; it always gave her goose bumps. An evocative piece that always spoke of despair and loneliness to her, its bittersweet melody fitted the mood somehow as she took in her damaged partner.

Lisbon didn't mind him sleeping; it was just nice to have him close by. It was a reminder of how close they used to be. That second sense that enabled them to read each other's needs and moods, had been muddied by the weight of their expectations. Though no further forward, they were strangely more content than they had been for a long time.

Lisbon remembered the little kindnesses they used to do for each other, the ostentatious gifts he'd bought for them at the Casino, which of course they could never keep. Even Cho and Rigsby had eventually returned their bug ugly watches. That playfulness as he entertained the team with his tricks, they were all a little enchanted by him. Even the enigmatic Cho had been drawn into his games; the straightest of arrows had bent to Jane's will.

Jane could still turn it on when he wanted. The way he had ensnared Krystal Markham was masterful, he had relished the challenge of a worthy opponent. With a degree of chagrin, Lisbon realised that perhaps she hadn't offered the challenge he needed of late. Her determination not to be seen as just Jane's stooge had made her distant, her diminished role as just another agent absolved her of responsibility for Jane, and in some ways had weakened the link between them.

Jane's approaches were so tentative as to feel half hearted, she had swatted them away still unsure what was going on between them. Surely they could have talked about it, found a way to negotiate that hurdle without estranging themselves?

Lisbon reflected how the years had started to take their toll on him. The lines were etched deeper, no one could possibly be unscathed by what he had suffered. Poor eating habits were starting to catch up with him, a bit of weight had settled around the waist, his features weren't perhaps as finely delineated as before.

Jane wouldn't want her to feel sorry for him, but he just didn't seem to fit into this new world he had chosen. The raison d'être for being in law enforcement disappeared with Red John, and whatever, or whoever, drew him back from his island idyll had not been enough to fill the void. Maybe a person only had so much passion to use in one lifetime, and Jane's had burned out at the altar of his revenge. It seemed like he was going through the motions, the work was just an intellectual challenge to fill the time.

The man who could light up the room with his sense of fun and audacious showmanship had lost some of his lustre. Reflective smiles were more the order of the day, as he took refuge in his books. His mentoring of Wylie had managed to draw him out to a degree, but apart from that rarely he socialised with anyone, he was becoming increasingly withdrawn.

There was a sadness when she looked at him, the bitterness at his lack of action had largely dissipated. Lisbon accepted that at this juncture he probably just wanted to be with her, but not necessarily _'be'_ with her.

The same could be said of Lisbon, when did she become this waspish character, picking fault with everything Jane did? She'd always had a temper, but she had never let Jane get to her before. One quick blast, and she used to get it out of her system. This festering resentment was unwarranted, no promises had been broken. They simply hadn't had the sense to sit down and talk to each other. They were grownups, was it really that difficult?

Jane didn't have the same resilience these days, little things seemed to take their toll; a recent cold had left him with a hacking cough for weeks. She wondered how he'd cope with serious illness, would he just resign himself to fate? She felt her eyes start to well up at the pathos of his situation. Despite his best efforts he was still the hollow man haunted by the eyes he dare not meet in deaths dream kingdom, to paraphrase Elliot.

Lisbon felt some regret that she had tried to force his hand when he probably wasn't ready - but where did that leave her? They were both suffering from the uncertainty of their situation. It was not the time to press the issue, but for the sake of their friendship if nothing else, they needed to sort this out. A wave of affection swept over Lisbon as she looked at his rumpled appearance, honestly how did he get himself into these scrapes?

* * *

Finally they arrived at the crime scene; the pipeline operators were impatient to start work on reinstating the pump, and barely hid their irritation at yet another set of investigators arriving. Jane hung around in the background; his battered appearance caused some raised eyebrows, it wasn't the usual attention he got for his looks. Once more there was little to be gleaned from the site, too many people had trampled over the evidence by time they got there. They were not explosives experts, so Lisbon liaised with forensic team. They assured her that if they could establish a footprint of the device used, it would be possible to tie it in with the materials used, if they could find the bomb house.

Jane had been fairly quiet at the scene, there was nothing he could add to what was already underway. Once they were back in the car, he reminded Lisbon there were still a couple of places he'd intended to visit before his attack. While they were in the vicinity it may be worth checking them out. It seemed like a plan, so Lisbon got Wylie to resend the details to them. The nearest place was about an hour away, so they made a quick detour to see what they could find out.

A ruddy faced, elderly man answered the door, although his bearing was upright, the frayed cuffs on his shirt sleeves were the sign of a man who wasn't particularly interested in his appearance. Jane guessed he had been widowed, and lived alone. The photographs on the wall indicated he still had family, but the slightly faded centrepiece was of an attractive woman in her early forties. The man, who introduced himself as Alan Stone, noticed Jane staring at the picture.

"My wife. She left us 20 years ago." Stone said simply.

"She looks a lovely woman." Jane replied.

"She was." Stone acknowledged.

Jane had some empathy with this man stuck in a time capsule. He guessed Stone's wife had chosen much of the now faded furniture; he didn't look that hard up, probably just had no interest in changing things. Jane felt a profound regret that they may be about to cause this man even more heartache, but it had to be done.

Lisbon started her questioning. "We're sorry to disturb you Sir, but we need to ask you some questions about your Grandson Zach."

Jane noticed Stone's features tense immediately, he guessed Stone had half been expecting Zach would get himself into trouble.

"He's a good boy. Why are you here?" Stone asked defensively.

"We are trying to eliminate people from our investigation, and need to know if Zach was here the weekend of the 4th." Lisbon continued politely.

"Why do you want to know?" Stone asked apprehensively.

"We're investigating the recent pipeline attacks, and believe there is a connection between someone at the Air force base and Yellowrose. Your Grandson is a possible suspect." There was no easy way of breaking the news to Stone.

Since they'd told Cho of their plans, Wylie had sent over more background information. It transpired that Alan Stone's son was an oil worker, who had been injured in an accident at work. His employer, Yellowrose, insisted he hadn't followed the safety procedures properly and denied all negligence. Unable to resume his former career, the family had suffered reduced circumstances, and he had been forced to take on a series of low paid jobs. The health insurance had lapsed, so when his wife fell ill only the most basic treatments were available to her, and she quickly succumbed to her illness.

Zach had taken it badly, and held a lingering animosity towards Yellowrose that ate away at him. Despite his early setbacks, Zach Stone was now training to be an intelligence professional, specialising in modelling and simulation. He would have been assured a good career, had he not been eaten up by resentment at the untimely loss of his mother.

When confronted with the facts, the Grandfather reluctantly conceded that Zach had been a regular visitor, and used the workshop to tinker with his bike. The neighbours had seen Zach come and go, there was no point denying it.

Jane and Lisbon exchanged cautious looks, they guessed Zach was their man.

"We can wait until we've got a warrant to search the premises, but I would strongly advise you let us check the workshop, so we can stop Zach getting into deeper trouble." Lisbon cautioned.

Stone gave a curt nod of agreement, though Jane sensed he had an ulterior motive for wanting them out of the way.

Pretending he had left his phone behind, Jane nipped back in as Stone was reaching for the phone. "When you phone him, tell him to go to Mexico, if he won't hand himself in. Tell him to quit before he kills someone and there's no way back." Jane said simply, before rejoining Lisbon.

As expected there were reels of cable, assorted hardware and hand tools in the workshop; the evidence was damning. Without delay Lisbon called in forensics, and then called Cho to arrange for Zach Stone's arrest. With a heavy heart Lisbon broke the news to the Grandfather, Jane's discomfort was evidenced by his looking down at his feet, as he rocked back on his heels.

Interrupted by her phone ringing, Lisbon frowned when she took the call. She addressed Stone accusingly. "You called him didn't you?"

"He's my Grandson." Stone responded unapologetically.

"Sir you can't do that, he's endangering people's lives. We have to stop him." There was no point taking sanctions against Stone, and in truth Lisbon didn't have the heart to.

As they made their way back to the car, Lisbon tackled Jane. "You knew didn't you?"

"Guessed." Jane corrected her.

"Jane, we can't pick and choose who we arrest." Lisbon responded wearily.

"Maybe we should go after the guilty people for once. Yellowrose caused this." Jane's moral precepts could be ambiguous when it suited him. Something about the hard working family, who had shouldered more than their fair share of misfortune had resonated with him. Stone's quiet dignity and devotion to his family appealed to Jane.

"Jane, we have to go by the law, we can't play fast and loose with it. You know what we have to do." Lisbon looked at him searchingly.

"I know, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. We've just evened the odds a bit." Jane would do his job even if his heart wasn't in it, just in case Zach Stone was planning more precipitous action.

Abbott called with renewed urgency in his voice. "Some migrant workers have been attacked in Midland. Their house was razed to the ground, fortunately they've escaped unharmed, but there's no doubt this is retribution for the perceived terror attacks. People are looking for someone to blame. There have been reports of migrant workers being attacked on the streets. We need to go public as soon as we can, to quell this antagonism."

Lisbon gave a sideward look at Jane before answering. "We're 90% certain it is Zach Stone, but need forensics to confirm the presence of explosives."

"Good, we'll issue a BOLO and put out a press release. We have to put a stop to this speculation about terrorism." Abbott had been getting serious heat for this. Lisbon looked warily at Jane when she rang off.

"They're throwing him to the wolves aren't they?" Jane said disconsolately.

"They have to. You can't have innocent people suffer. No matter how much you romanticise this Jane, Zach is not an innocent." However much Lisbon empathised with the family's hardships, she knew this was not the way to respond. Lisbon's own family had worked their way through their travails. Her father had shown enough self pity for all of them, she reflected bitterly. Tempting as it could have been, they hadn't sought to take matters in their own hands.

Jane was starting to look pale again and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Lisbon guessed the effects of the painkillers were wearing off. "Come on, it's time we found somewhere to eat, and a nice soft bed for you to sleep in. Why don't you take some more tablets and I'll wake you when we get there?" Lisbon passed Jane a bottle of water to take his tablets, and was rewarded with a grateful smile as Jane sank back into the car seat and drifted off again.

* * *

 **A/N** bit of a rush job, so please excuse any mistakes in my ramblings.


	8. Chapter 8 : Loose Ends

**Chapter 8: Loose Ends**

Seeing a nondescript but open diner, and feeling the undeniable rumbling of her stomach, Lisbon pulled over into the car park. She prodded Jane gently to wake him."Come on Rip Van Winkle, let's get some food in you."

Jane played with some eggs on his plate but ate little; the medication has dulled his appetite for once. It was a sure sign he wasn't feeling great; Jane never usually had a problem eating. The swelling on his face probably didn't help, it would make eating difficult.

"You shouldn't look in the mirror before you go to sleep, you may have nightmares." Lisbon commented drily.

"Tsk. Kicking a man when he's down. That's not fair Lisbon." A slight smile crossed Jane's lips.

"It's normally the only way to get a response from you." She added with a grin.

Jane shook his head slowly and smirked. "Honestly Lisbon, it's just as well I know you. Anyone would think you didn't care."

Slightly nonplussed, Lisbon paused before replying. "You're like that irritating itch that you've had so long that you miss it when it isn't there. No matter how annoying it is at times, you've grown used to it."

"So now I'm an itch?" The pitch of his voice rose slightly.

"And a pain." She added for good measure.

"Really Lisbon. You know how to make a man feel good, insults and name calling. Very mature." Jane reverted to teasing mode.

"I've only just started." Lisbon entered into the verbal jousting with relish.

"I can see you missed that motivational speaking course." Jane added drily.

"Like you'd take any notice. Anyhow you're not my responsibility anymore." The idea of Jane buying into motivational mumbo jumbo made her laugh.

"That's a shame. The nagging and abuse were the highlight of my day." Jane reflected ruefully.

"There's no rule says I can't still do that. Come on Quasimodo, you need your beauty sleep." With a light flick at his arm Lisbon rose to lead the way out, ignoring Jane's whining about hitting an injured man.

* * *

Lisbon had another reason for wanting an early night, she was going to have to respond to Pike at some stage. She scrolled through his texts and pondered how best to deal with this. It seemed cowardly to end things by phone, but there was no way she could keep up the pretence any longer. Maybe a few days apart would give Pike the chance to get used to the idea, before they met up again.

With a heavy heart she dialled his number.

"Teresa, where are you? I've been trying to get hold of you for days." There was more than a hint of irritation to Pike's question.

"I've been working Marcus. You know the score when we're on a case." Lisbon responded noncommittally.

"Too busy to take a call?" His scepticism was barely disguised.

"I've been tied up on the case." She responded coolly.

"You with Jane?" There was a slight edge now to Pike's voice.

"Yes, we're working together. What of it?" Lisbon sighed, he was bound to jump to the wrong conclusion.

"I don't like you being away with him. Apart from anything else he's a liability." Pike let his antipathy for Jane surface for once.

"We're FBI agents, it comes with the territory, and you don't choose who I work with." Lisbon's ire was rising.

Sensing the change in mood Pike shifted tack "I'm not trying to put you under any pressure Babe, but I've really missed you. In fact I've been looking at a bigger apartment, one we could move into together. I've got a viewing booked tomorrow, the realtor says these rarely come up and we should snap it up."

"That's a bit of a presumption Marcus." Lisbon said quietly.

"I just thought as we were getting on so well, it was the next step." Pike pushed ahead.

"But you didn't think to ask me first? I don't think I'm ready for that, in fact Marcus I don't think I'll ever be ready for that." Lisbon kept her tone light and even as she delivered her final verdict.

"What are you saying Teresa." Pike blustered, had he heard that right?

"I'm saying there's no future Marcus. I've had a great time, but I'm not looking for commitment. I'm sorry if you thought otherwise." Not wishing to hurt Pike further, Lisbon kept things as pleasant as she could.

"This is Jane's influence, he's got to you." Pike hadn't seen this coming, and could only think this was Jane's doing.

"Marcus I'm perfectly capable of making my own mind up. This is nothing to do with Jane. It's clear our expectations are different, and it would be wrong to carry on. I'm sorry but that's how I feel." It was getting more difficult to keep things neutral.

"Teresa, wait until you get back and we can talk it over." Pike felt sure he could change her mind face to face.

"Of course I'll talk to you Marcus, but I'm afraid my mind is made up. " Lisbon knew there was no going back on this.

Pike's words fell on deaf ears. Lisbon felt a profound sense of relief at having sorted that out. She wondered what spin Pike would put on it. He was fundamentally a decent person just a bit pushy, she'd go along with whatever face saving explanation he put forward. It was her fault for letting it go this far.

* * *

Zach Stone had managed to cover his tracks pretty well, no wonder given his training. The Goodfellow air base specialised in intelligence training and San Angelo was sometimes called the city of spies. Stone would know every trick in the book. His salary had been withdrawn in cash every payday, and had no doubt been deposited on pre-paid cards to muddy the paper trail. There was no activity on any of his bank accounts or credit cards recently that would give any hint of his activities.

This smacked of a well planned operation, he had probably been prepared for flight at short notice. His training would have schooled him how to blend into the background, he could just disappear into the wind. Basic training would have taught him how to survive in the wild if needs be. The problem was they had no idea where or what he was going to target next.

Stone could probably match Wylie's technical expertise, where he may fall down was in his ability to think laterally, if his military training had been too prescriptive. Wylie's somewhat undisciplined thought processes might waste time on improbable scenarios, but just occasionally there were sparks of genius that could make quantum leaps forwards. The trouble was they had nothing to work with as yet .

Stone had taken off on his motorbike, but had ditched it down some dirt track off the road to Brady. The chances were he had hitched a ride somewhere, and was using the public transport system to get around. There was a plethora of itinerant workers moving from farm to farm at this time of year, he would have no problem coming up with a feasible cover story.

* * *

Around mid morning a few of the pipeline operators were reporting that their systems seemed to be compromised. The remote monitoring system had picked up on unauthorised events happening. The batching of materials down the pipelines was being disrupted by valves being remotely activated at the wrong times, sending batches to the wrong destinations. The Yellowrose refinery outside Corpus Christi had been particularly affected. A batch of petroleum products they had sent down the line had been contaminated when the valves had failed to shutoff at the end of the batch, causing it to mix with the batch of Kerosene following down the line, which should have been destined for one of the airports. They had finally manually overridden the valve but were now left with the task of dealing with the contaminated product.

The pipeline network was critical for transporting large volumes of refined oil products, the road and rail system could not cope with transporting the vast quantities required to feed the nation's demand for fuel. If the disruption were to spread across the network, it wouldn't take long for the nation to grind to a halt. It had to be hoped that Stone's target was more specific, and major disruption and the accompanying outcry could be avoided.

An update from Wylie had left Jane and Lisbon largely bemused, they could grasp most concepts but communication protocols left them cold. Wylie was wittering on in acronyms, and Jane rolled his eyes as the conversation sank increasingly into geek speak. Eventually Jane's patience snapped.

"Just slow down Wylie speak in English. What on earth is SCADA?" Jane stopped Wylie's spiel in its tracks.

"It's supervisory control and data acquisition for remote monitoring and control, coded signals can be sent down the lines to collate information about the status of the remote equipment."Wylie just rattled it off, as if everyone should know that. There was no hint of arrogance to Wylie, he just forgot sometimes that most people lived outside the techno bubble.

"So put simply they can turn things on and off remotely." Jane surmised.

"Yes, the control centres have graphics that show them exactly what's happening all over the network, and it looks like there's been unauthorised access. The command to turn one of the valves off was countermanded. Instead of the batched products being segregated, they've all been delivered to the same destination, ruining huge amounts of product." Wylie was just about to launch into a more detailed explanation when he was interrupted.

"Is that all that's happened?" Jane would have to draw the information they needed out of Wylie in byte sizes.

"No there's more. Products have been delivered to the wrong end user, and there have been reports of overspill where tanks have overflowed because the supplies could not be cut off in time."

"Aren't these networks supposed to be secure?" Jane knew he was tempting fate with that question, he prepared himself for information overload.

"The systems are robust and simple to operate but not that sophisticated, many of the communication networks are still hard wired. For someone who knows what they're doing, it wouldn't be that difficult to gain access to the system. Security wasn't that much of a consideration when these networks were first conceived, and now they're playing catch-up trying to foolproof the systems." Wylie kept in simple.

"Ok so what is the worst that can happen?" Jane tried to get to the crux of the matter.

"Major spillage or product contamination, but this looks more like just random interference to cause commercial damage." Wylie replied.

"So this is just a precursor to something else?" The consultant guessed this was just a side show.

"Well it depends on what he's trying to do, but there is a lot more damage he could do." Wylie admitted.

* * *

Later over a sandwich, Lisbon and Jane started analysing what they knew so far.

"We can't second guess what he's going to do next, and there are better placed people than us to deal with that side of things. So what have we learned so far about Stone?" Lisbon started bouncing ideas around.

"This is essentially driven by human concerns; there's no point us wasting our time with the technicalities, we need to find out more about the man to predict his behaviour. Find out what makes him tick and turns him on, take a look at the small details. We're just spectators at the moment, waiting for his next move. I think we need to get back to the base, and start talking to his colleagues to find out more about him. Maybe look round his room, sometimes the smallest of things can give us a clue." Jane concluded.

"I agree. Then we need to find out more about his father's accident. The revenge motive may be more personal than this appears, we need to know exactly what happened." Lisbon was reinvigorated by her new found independence and more like the dynamic agent Jane first knew.

Jane had sensed a change in her first thing this morning, although he had his suspicions as to what had happened, it suited him to keep quiet for know. Besides Lisbon could be very prickly where her personal life was concerned, and Jane was enjoying the cessation of hostilities.

Jane was also sharper today, since he'd been able to ease off on some of the pain killers. Although still decidedly creaky and tender, he would be able to make more of a contribution. He felt a bit self conscious with everyone staring at him, the cut over his eye and the livid bruising to his face made him look more roguish than ever. Taking a back seat, Jane let Lisbon lead with the questioning, just throwing in the occasional curve balls.

Zach it appeared was a bit of a loner, he would talk to people when he was working but outside of that preferred his own company, always doing something on his computer. People liked him well enough, he was personable, inoffensive but just chose to fade into the background. His leave was spent with his Grandfather, there was no mention of a girlfriend. Stone was well suited to the undercover life he had taken up.

Zach's belongings were sparse; he didn't seem to need much. It was as if he'd been prepared for flight for a while. Anticipating Stone's secretive nature, Jane checked all the drawers and the undersides for any hidden items. Jane recalled how he had secreted things in the attic at the CBI. Little mementoes of Charlotte and Angela had been kept in a small box under the floorboards, they were probably still there he reflected wistfully.

Stone's room was standard issue, concrete floor, prefabricated walls, nowhere really to hide anything. It didn't look as if Stone had tried to personalise his room at all, there were no books or music that might hint at his personality. Nothing remotely personal had been left behind. Jane suspected Stone lived in a virtual world getting everything he needed online.

It really looked as if they had drawn a blank for now. They would have to move on, and try to find out more about his father's accident. After consultation with Cho and Abbott, it was agreed Jane and Lisbon would stay out in the field for now, and should make their way down to Corpus Christi where Stone's father now lived.

* * *

It was a long drive, but Wylie kept them fully briefed. Jane could read up as they travelled, and distil the pertinent information for Lisbon to take in as she drove.

Jane cast the odd look askance, as he watched Lisbon drive. Alert and purposeful, she was very much concentrating on the job and the road ahead, allowing him the luxury of taking her in more closely. The years had barely touched her, the odd silver hair had occasionally shown through in the past, but now her mane was glossy and well tended.

Lisbon had definitely started to pay more attention to her appearance, since her tomboy days at the CBI. The softer look suited her, the badass cop image would have given a harder edge to her that would not sit so well with age. Her disciplined body could still take down the perpetrators when needed. There were no tell tale signs of a more settled life, she was still as trim as ever.

Although Jane appreciated her new look was more age appropriate, part of him missed the badass cop who had made his pulse race at times. Ironically for all his affectation of the finer things in life, he had been strangely attracted to his diminutive partner. She lacked the social graces of the femme fatales who had crossed his path, but her honesty and integrity had their own charm.

A smile passed his lips as he recalled how Krystal and Erica had tried to manipulate him with their womanly wiles, he certainly wouldn't deny their attraction or his reaction to them, though that was quickly brought under control.

He pondered why he hadn't tried to intervene with Pike. In retrospect it was blatantly obvious Lisbon had been sending out signals to him to do something, but it was so unlike her to fall back on tactics like that. The jealousy had been real and deep, so why hadn't he done something? There had been an undeniable sense of hurt that Lisbon should consider moving on without him, but who could blame her for wanting a life? Jane hadn't exactly signalled his intentions, on the other hand Lisbon hadn't been particularly receptive when he tried to get the conversation going.

Enjoyable as the current impasse was, it couldn't last forever.

Lisbon suddenly turned her head. "Quit staring, I can feel your eyes boring into me."

"Can't a man look at his partner anymore?" Jane queried.

"Not if you're trying to read me." She had felt strangely self conscious at being the centre of his attention.

"I haven't been able to read you for a while now Teresa. Believe me events would have been very different, if I could." Jane said softly.

Lisbon flushed slightly at the inference, and gripped the wheel tightly as she concentrated on the road ahead.

Jane smiled slightly at the whitening of her knuckles, as she determinedly tried to shut him out of her mind. He settled down contentedly to recharge his batteries, before they reached the next stage of their journey.


	9. Chapter 9 : Reflections

**Chapter 9: Reflections**

The sound of a television blaring filtered through from the back of the building, no doubt why there was no response to the door bell. Carefully Jane and Lisbon made their way down the side of the single storey dwelling, navigating passed the pile of junk which had just been dumped there. The whole place smacked of creeping decrepitude.

The sound of the game could be heard loud and clear through the open back door, as could Stone's badmouthing of one of the teams.

Lisbon stood outside yelling, "Mr Stone can you hear me? It's Agent Lisbon from the FBI."

"Got nothing to say to you. Go away." A voice bellowed out.

"Can I come in? I need to speak to you about your son?" Lisbon persisted.

"Told you - I know nothing." The replies were increasingly bellicose in tone.

Lisbon was just about to start again, when Jane walked straight passed her. Protocol be damned as usual.

Jeff Stone looked up in surprise as Jane made his way through."Who gave you permission to come in?"

"Door was open." Jane replied. "Besides the sooner you stop feeling sorry for yourself, the sooner we can see what we can do for your son." If the lingering smell of stale beer wasn't proof enough, the empty cans by Jeff's chair went some way to explaining his belligerence.

"What happened to you?" Jeff looked Jane up and down.

"Got beat up." Jane shrugged.

"No shit, can't think why." Jeff replied acerbically.

"Apparently some people find me annoying." Jane resorted to humour to try and defuse the situation. Wisely Lisbon kept in the background, sensing Jeff Stone would react badly to anyone waving their badge around.

Jeff motioned for Jane to sit down in one of the chairs; he cast a quick glare in Lisbon's direction, making it abundantly clear the invitation did not extend to her.

Jane started the ball rolling."We're trying to stop Zach before he does something really serious. We're pretty sure all this is related to your accident and the subsequent loss of your wife. Why don't you tell us your version of events?"

"Zach's just messing, he won't do anything. He's his mother's son, all mouth and no action."Jeff said dismissively.

"Well I'd hardly call planting a bomb no action." Jane wondered exactly how much Jeff knew, he seemed to be genuinely in the dark.

"Was anyone hurt?" Jeff looked questioningly at Jane. "Told you, just threats. He hasn't got it in him." Stone took another swig of his beer and checked the game score, he kept his eyes on the screen until Jane sharply interrupted."He needs your help."

"He needs nothing from me! Made that perfectly clear, blames me for getting injured and not looking after his mother." Jeff retorted bitterly.

"Was it your fault?" Jane didn't beat about the bush.

"The hell it was! My boss Al Brumby was supposed to check the tanks were clean before we started work on them. It was just a formality he said, so he told me to sign that they had been checked. He was called away to look at something else, and never got round to checking the tanks. They weren't completely clean, and when we started work on them one of them exploded. Everyone blamed me because I had signed for it. I took the brunt of the explosion, spent weeks in hospital; it was touch and go at one stage. While I was gone everyone blamed me, I got suspended then fired. No compensation because they said I hadn't followed procedure." The story rang true judging by Jeff's genuine indignation.

"What about your boss?" Jane ventured.

"Hah! Brumby received a commendation for his cool handling of the situation, and got promoted for his actions. He never said a word." Jeff shook his head bitterly.

"What about the rest of the crew, did no one else hear what he said to you?" Jane reckoned someone must have overheard.

"If they did they weren't saying." So much for standing up for each other.

"Did Zach know the facts?" Jane thought this could well be the trigger for his quest for revenge.

"His mother tried telling him when she was ill, but we had no proof. He just thought I was a loser." Jeff said dejectedly.

"So who else was in the crew? Maybe we could talk to them. If we can finger Brumby perhaps Zach will stop." Jane thought there was a realistic chance they could nip this in the bud.

"I'm telling you the kid won't do anything." Zach's father insisted.

"You tell my boss that." Jane pulled a face and jerked his head in Lisbon's direction, although she wasn't actually his boss anymore. "The brass is on her back and she won't let this drop."

Lisbon folded her arms and scowled to back Jane's point up.

"So did Zach have a room here? It would help if we could look round." Jane suggested.

Jeff glared at Lisbon, and then looked at Jane "She really your boss?"

Jane grimaced. "Hard to believe isn't it?" Much as he would have loved to see Lisbon's reaction, he didn't dare look in her direction.

Ignoring Lisbon, Jeff addressed Jane. "Second door on the left, not much in there. Don't mess with anything."

Lisbon went to follow. "Not you just him. You stay there."

Risking a quick glance at Lisbon, Jane couldn't help but smile at her pent up frustration. Jane wasn't sure what Stone's problem was with women, but he certainly had it in for Lisbon. Still it gave Jane a free run of the room, as Jeff had no intention of letting Lisbon out of his sight.

To kill time, Lisbon sent Cho a quick text to get him to check out the other crew members, to see what had happened to them since the incident. Jeff glowered belligerently at Lisbon, he wasn't taking any shit off some jumped up female cop. Not since that bitch of a lawyer had stitched him up good and proper, at the compensation hearing.

Lisbon coolly returned Jeff's look, living up to her designated role. It just put Jeff's hackles up even more, he bellowed impatiently to Jane - "You all done there?"

"Just a minute." Jane reappeared with a glint in his eye. Lisbon knew he had found something.

Jeff's eyes narrowed as he viewed Jane suspiciously. "You were a long time."

"Have to be thorough or else, you know." Jane jerked his head in Lisbon's direction, to imply he was a downtrodden brother in arms.

"Sure looks like you're carrying her." Jeff agreed.

Lisbon just laughed derisively. "No point having a dog and barking yourself is what I say." She turned on her heels, leaving the two men exchanging sympathetic looks.

Jane caught up with her outside. "So now I'm a dog Lisbon?"

"Down boy. Just role playing, it's what you wanted. Funny you never called me your boss when I really was responsible for you." Lisbon grinned.

"Technically you weren't." Jane insisted.

"So why was it always me that took the heat?" She recalled the hours of form filling he had generated.

"You loved it, anyhow it gave you leverage over me. Allowed you to appeal to my better nature, so to speak." He responded flippantly.

"Don't recall it was particularly successful." She snarked.

Jane just shrugged apologetically, recalling those days with some affection.

As they drove away, Lisbon finally tackled him."So, what have you got?"

"How do you know I've got anything?" Jane teased.

"Let's see, the slight skip in your step, in a hurry to leave. Guess that means you've taken something you shouldn't have. Not to mention that unbearably smug look on your face." Lisbon concluded.

"Very good Lisbon, apart from the smug look of course. My face isn't capable of smug at the moment." He ran his hand gingerly over his face as proof.

"Looked pretty smug to me. Anyhow you're admitting I'm right on the rest, so spill the beans." Lisbon was like the dog with the bone this time, she wasn't letting go.

"Well there's nothing concrete, just a few clues into Zach's interests. Incidentally his father is right, it would be out of character for him to physically hurt someone. But if he's cornered, who knows what he would do." Jane put his hand to his pocket, and pulled out some newspaper clippings that he'd found in a drawer. He also took out his phone, which he'd used to photograph a few items of interest. Jane wasn't the Luddite they all assumed him to be, although he had no burning interest in technology, he could use it when it suited.

"Come on there's more than that." Lisbon insisted.

"I'm cogitating, the wheels are in motion, have patience woman." Jane mimed the action of the wheels going round for good measure, knowing full well it would wind her up.

"Jane just spit it out for once. Don't play games with me." Lisbon snapped.

"Oooh I love it when you go all authoritarian on me."Jane growled. He settled against the door frame for a quick nap, peeping out between his semi closed lids to observe the affect of his words. Satisfied at seeing a slightly flustered Lisbon doing her best to pretend she hadn't heard that, he drifted off.

Later when Jane woke, he started to go through the newspaper clippings, and tried to appease Lisbon by filling her in with the details of the compensation hearing, which Yellowrose had successfully defended. That had all but bankrupted Stone, making his situation even worse. Unfortunately as it was just Jeff Stone's word against Brumby's, no one had been prepared to take up his case on a pro bono basis, and his small time representative had been taken to pieces by Yellowrose's high flying lawyer Gaby Martinez.

Jane also showed Lisbon some shots of Zach and his mother at some holiday resort. It seemed strange Zach would cling to this particular memory from his childhood, and it made Jane wonder if it might be somewhere he might seek refuge. Unable to readily identify the place, he sent the shots to Wylie; if anyone could locate the place he would.

* * *

They stopped at a small motel just a short walk from the coast, which they could use as their base for the next couple of days. Neither had been that well prepared for the trip, so there were some practical issues to deal with. Jane was amused to see Lisbon finally emerge from her room in some crop pants and a tee shirt.

"Dry cleaning " She said in response to his look, a quick visit to one of the local markets had been required. Her go to bag only covered a couple of nights away. She looked surprisingly young in her stripped back mode, her freshly washed hair falling into soft untamed waves.

Theatrically Jane offered Lisbon his arm, so they could take a leisurely promenade along the seafront and find somewhere to eat. Enjoying the bonhomie, they put work aside for a while as they made the most of the warm evening sun, there would be plenty of time for work later.

Finding an unpretentious seafood restaurant with a deck overlooking the shore, they shared a seafood platter, playfully squabbling over the food just like the old days. Needing to keep a clear head for later, they washed the meal down with a single beer, but it relaxed them sufficiently to feel at ease with each other. Lisbon leant back in her chair wondering why it had taken them so long to get back to this stage. She shyly looked away when she caught Jane looking at her. Why did she feel so gauche with Jane, when she had flung herself headlong into a relationship with Pike without a second thought?

Lisbon noticed Jane was now looking wistfully out towards the sea, memories of a different coast and a different time coming back. He took some comfort from the fact that he was starting to remember the good times as well as the bad times these days.

Lisbon tentatively slipped her hand over the table to settle on his. "Good thoughts?" She enquired kind heartedly, guessing where Jane's thoughts had drifted.

"They're getting better."A sad smile crossed Jane's face. "This reminds me of our first proper holiday as a family, before I hit the big time. I'd always loved the sea, and we were staying in this downmarket resort just north of Malibu, it was all we could afford at the time. Not that we were used to luxury at that stage. It was probably the happiest we were." Jane added softly.

Lisbon squeezed his hand companionably, guessing he felt the need to talk for once.

"There was no pressure to keep up appearances; we just messed around on the beach. Charlie would keep tumbling over in the sand, still unsure of her footing. By the end of the day she would be exhausted and sleep through, allowing us a few precious hours to ourselves." Jane's eyes took on a faraway look, as he recalled their tender moments alone.

Lisbon went to pull back her hand, not wishing to intrude on his innermost thoughts, but Jane gathered her hand in his, wanting Lisbon to be part of this. Wanting to share with the person who understood him better than anyone else, and who he felt the closest to. It felt entirely natural that he would include Lisbon in this now, after so many years of keeping her at arm's length.

"We would travel down the ocean road into Malibu to sample the high life, and Angie would look at the houses high above the sea. We would have one of those ' _what if'_ conversations, where you'd speculate what you'd do if you won the lottery, and Angie always dreamed of living there. As soon as I hit the big time, I signed up for a house there. It was everything Angie wanted, she had a real flair for design, simple but elegant. But the lifestyle had to be maintained, and if I'm honest I got drunk on the attention, never turning down a TV gig however tacky." Jane looked shamefacedly down at the table.

"The very thing that we had striven for, ultimately cost us everything. Success can be a cruel and demanding mistress, remorselessly dangling the temptation of further riches. It was a car crash waiting to happen; sooner or later I would have pressed the self destruct button. If only it had been me that paid the price...

"Of course we were happy in a fashion, but not in that carefree innocent way of old, where we didn't give a damn about anything. Angie tried to mould Charlie into the perfect daughter, but she was rumbustious and obstinate; I fear my genes predominated. There was a battle of wills even at an early age. Charlie was an independent spirit with so much promise to unleash on the world. Unfulfilled promise..." Jane stalled, closing his eyes slightly, feeling the pricking of tears, and not wanting to embarrass himself. He felt a comforting grip of his hand and looked up into Lisbon's face; they held each other's gaze comfortably. He sighed deeply. "And here we are another world away, the past is just a distant memory."

"It's always with you Patrick, inside your heart. No matter what happens you will never lose that." Lisbon spoke from experience, there was rarely a day went by when she didn't think of some happy memory of her mother.

Shaking off his reflections, Jane flashed one of his genuine smiles at Lisbon, not the superficial megawatt one he saved for strangers. "I guess we still have work to do." He stood up and offered her his arm for the stroll back to the motel.

* * *

Cho and Wylie had wasted no time chasing up the leads Jane had passed on to them. Finding the holiday location had proved more difficult than expected. What finally gave Wylie the answer was when he zoomed in on the parked cars, and noticed the distinctive Tamaulipas car plates. Initially they had thought nothing of the Spanish name of the establishment in the background, it wasn't that uncommon in the border area. Wylie soon highlighted the exact location, and they realised Zach was potentially holed up on the other side of the Mexico border.

They'd also identified the rest of the crew present on the day of the accident. Interestingly two of them were still with Yellowrose, having been promoted not long after the incident. There were plenty of leads to follow up the following day, and Abbott suggested Cho and Fischer join them to try and close the case as quickly as possible.

* * *

 **A/N** Probably the last update this side of Wimbledon. Sorry for any late reviews on other people's stories, there is a lot going on this week.


	10. Chapter 10 : Smoke and mirrors

**Chapter 10: Smoke and Mirrors**

"Darn that boy's good!"Wylie whistled appreciatively, a big grin plastered all over his face, as he settled down to battle it out with a worthy protagonist.

A denial of service attack had been launched on the Yellowrose computer systems overnight, which resulted in most users being locked out from the system. The attack had been timed to hit just before the morning start-up, using spoofed IP addresses to disguise the identity of the source of attack. The whole system had been crashed, and they had even lost access to their website.

Wylie was wittering on giving a running commentary, as he tried new approaches. Cho desperately tried to keep track of what he was doing, and attempted to elicit simple explanations from Wylie.

Interestingly Wylie had hinted that while it wasn't strictly necessary, this sort of attack may work better with insider involvement. Someone who had direct access to the networks, could plant malware on a network PC to create a Zombie agent, which could be remotely controlled. It was worth checking out if anyone connected to Stone's crew had any reason for grievance.

They all knew that Abbott was on a short fuse, having just been hauled over the coals by Schultz for their lack of progress. Wylie's whoops of appreciation were not going down well; it was only a matter of time before Abbott blew his top. Cho flashed a warning look at Fischer, and nodded in the direction of Abbott's office. Fischer gave a quick nod, and made her way over to try and mollify Abbott.

"Schultz being her usual demanding self?" Fischer rationalised that giving Abbott a chance to vent might defuse the situation.

Abbott indicated for her to close the door before he let fly. "They could designate a new classification of invertebrates for that woman and her kind. It's a wonder she can stand up, she's so spineless. All she's interested in is protecting her back, it's so long since she operated in the field she hasn't got a clue how things work these days. When Alexa first started, computers used to take up whole rooms, she's got no concept of the convolutions of modern systems. She assumes I'm making excuses, when I try and explain things to her. Hell, she can't even use her mobile phone properly according to her PA. If she came down from her ivory tower, and stopped schmoozing the high and mighty, she might appreciate what we're up against."

Abbott kept his voice down, but the venom was undeniable. Fischer was the only person he would talk freely to. Although he maintained a veneer of professionalism in front of the others, his antipathy towards Schultz was nevertheless well known.

It was frustrating being reliant on the mercurial talents of people like Jane and Wylie, but Abbott accepted their contributions could be inspired at times. It was bad enough that they had to put up with Jane's peccadilloes, but at least they shared a lingua franca, Wylie spoke an alien language at times. With all his managerial responsibilities, Abbott didn't keep as up to date with technology as he would like to, and it frustrated him immensely to be so reliant on specialists.

Fischer winced as Abbott directed a venomous glare in the direction of the bullpen, in response to Wylie's latest whoop of excitement. "Denis, it's just youthful exuberance. Just ignore it. If you try and control it, he'll lose his edge – just try and go with the flow."

"I know." He grimaced. "We run one of the best darned field offices, but we're hoisted by our own petard. The more you give them, the more they expect."

Abbott tapped nervously on his upper lip, before turning his attention back to Fischer. "You and Cho going to Corpus Christi later on?"

Fischer nodded reassuringly.

The supervisory agent would feel happier with two of his trusted lieutenants keeping an eye on things, even if he had to manage Wylie himself. Abbott knew Agent Lisbon had a fine reputation, but her recent antics had left him questioning her commitment. She had started off so brightly, determined to prove herself, but she had done herself no favours the last few weeks. The damned consultant wouldn't work properly with anyone else, but now they seemed to have fallen out, and her value as the 'Jane whisperer' was questionable. Abbott just shook his head – why would anyone in their right mind choose to manage people?

Mission accomplished, Fischer made her way back out to the bullpen, putting a finger over her lips and glancing back to Abbott's office, to indicate that Wylie should keep it down.

Wylie's mouth formed a silent O, realising that treating this as a computer game wasn't perhaps the most appropriate behaviour for the work place. He caught Cho's eye and gave him a lopsided grin, before settling down to the task in hand.

After some consultation, Fischer and Cho decided the best course of action was for Wylie to communicate direct with them, rather than with Abbott whenever possible. For all his exuberance Wylie had a healthy respect for Abbott, and was unlikely to perform to his best if the Boss was simmering in attendance. They set up the chain of command and left Wylie with clear instructions not to disturb Abbott.

* * *

It was hardly the best time to visit Yellowrose; the company was in a state of chaos with all their systems down. Their fracking operations had been suspended, as they only had limited storage capacity in the field, and were currently unable to access the pipeline systems. The field teams were reduced to doing basic maintenance work, but they were stymied by their inability to place orders for the basic supplies. This was costing the company a fortune in lost revenues.

Initially Yellowrose had been loath to co-operate with this new direction the FBI was taking, insisting they were raking over old news. When it was pointed out to them that the attacks on the pipeline made it a federal issue, and they had no choice but to comply, they reluctantly agreed to grant Jane and Lisbon access to the crewmen and Brumby.

Brumby had done well for himself; he was now responsible for field maintenance in the whole region. His plush office was a reflection of the wealth the industry generated, the oversized executive chair indicative of someone who valued rank and position. No doubt he was good at his job - the industry was unsentimental; if you failed to deliver, you were out. He had an imposing presence, it was easy to see why he commanded respect, well among his peers at any rate.

Lisbon could see Jane's eyes light up with mischief the minute he surveyed the trappings of an over inflated executive ego. Keeping very much in the background as Lisbon made the introductions, Jane prowled around the office, refusing the seat offered to him.

The epitome of professionalism, Lisbon slowly tried to establish the facts with Brumby, choosing to take a conciliatory line while Jane lurked in the background. "Mr Brumby, no doubt you're aware that we think there's a link between an accident that took place on your watch, and the threats against Yellowrose. Would you care to describe what happened that day."

Brumby's eyes had been following Jane, as he examined the mementos and commendations proudly displayed in his office. It made it more difficult for him to concentrate on his story with his attentions divided, and more likely for him to trip up as a result of that. Lisbon had come to understand Jane's methodology over the years, and it rarely failed to work.

Obliged to respond to Lisbon, Brumby decided attack was the best form of defence. "The company is under attack, the whole infrastructure has been threatened, and yet the FBI just wants to dredge up past history. No wonder the nation can't defend itself, when you insist on wasting time on things like this."

Slowly but politely Lisbon pushed her point. "The sooner you answer our questions Sir, the sooner we can move on to other avenues of investigation. I'm sure you appreciate that all investigations involve hours of questioning, until we gradually eliminate all possibilities and target the salient issues. Believe me real investigation is nothing like fiction, it's gruelling and intensive, we just have to put the hours in. I'm sorry if we're asking you to go over old ground, but we would be remiss not to cover all options."

Lisbon was well aware of Brumby's divided attention, as Jane was looking closely at one of the photographs on the wall, so she decided to push the boat out a bit. "I'm sure you want this sorted as quickly as we do, unless of course you have something to hide. If that were the case, we would take a dim view of our investigation being impeded. As no doubt your employers would, given the amount of money this is costing them. It would be a shame to put all this at threat for the sake of answering a few questions."

Lisbon had Brumby's full attention now, her point had hit home. Jane looked on appreciatively, Lisbon had excelled herself. Her calm line of questioning could be deceptively effective at times.

"The accident reports cover everything, I'm not sure what I can add to that." Brumby responded defensively.

"We generally find it better to ask our own questions Sir, we're not interested in the technicalities just what led up to them. So why do you think Jeff Stone contests your version of events?" Lisbon just kept plodding away, never overtly antagonistic but keeping the pressure on nevertheless.

Settling back on to more familiar territory Brumby relaxed back in his chair. "Compensation of course - Stone messed up and was trying to cover his back."

Jane advanced to Lisbon's side. "Strange, that's exactly what he says about you."

Brumby fixed Jane with an irritated glare. "Well he would. He's hardly likely to shoulder the blame himself."

"That photograph over there, with you all smiling surrounding Stone. That looks like some commendation Stone's receiving." Jane started off innocently.

"Look you're only as good as your last mistake in this game. Breeches of protocol are dangerous in this industry, there no second chances." They didn't doubt the veracity of Stone's statement, it was a rough and tumble environment, and the penalties of failure were tough.

Jane's eyes examined the oilman critically, as he tried to find some weakness in Brumby's armour. "Not that Stone was in any position to defend himself. Recovering in hospital he would have been unaware that he was being well and truly stitched up. To add insult to injury, not only did you bear no responsibility for what happened to your team that day, but somehow you emerged the hero of the day."

Brumby started to flush from the neck up, although he kept his voice even, his anger manifested in his florid complexion. "There was a clear breech of protocol, Stone signed for something he hadn't done. It was an open and shut case."

"Indeed, he was guilty of following the orders of a trusted colleague, one who's actions nearly killed him, and resulted in him losing everything. Tell me how did you get everyone to back you up -intimidation, offer of inducements or promotions? A number of you did very well in the aftermath of the incident. No doubt the company was appreciative of the compensation claim they avoided, and the fines that could have been imposed on them by the health and safety inspectorate. Even if you had come clean, as Stone's supervisor, the company would have been liable for your actions, this was a win-win situation all round. Well apart from Stone of course - so much easier to sell one man down the river." Jane twisted the knife in with each accusation. It was all too easy to see how they had closed ranks while Stone was out of the loop, there was no doubt he had been set up.

Brumby was too cool a customer to crack at this stage, but Jane felt sure they would be able to find a weak link somewhere in the chain. Still there was no point letting Brumby think he had won.

Lisbon unleashed the parting shot. "Of course no matter how well you think you've covered your tracks internally, there will still be footprints on your service provider's backups. The FBI has the resource and the will to access those, and can recover deleted communications. It is only a matter of time until the truth comes to light."

Privately Jane doubted that would be sanctioned, as there was nothing in it for the FBI, but the fact remained that it could be done and the mere threat of that might flush out one of the crew members when word got out.

* * *

"That's got him thinking." Lisbon commented as they made their way out.

"We still make a good team. Although it's a bit disconcerting how easily you know what I'm doing these days." Jane said with some regret.

"Sorry to take the wind out of your sails, but what sort of detective would I be if I didn't learn something of your methods? If you watch the magician at work for long enough, eventually you make out the smoke and mirrors." Lisbon's response left Jane feeling strangely flat.

"Oh Lisbon! Now you've killed the magic - half the fun used to be surprising you. When did I become so predictable?" He moaned.

"Well you're not predictable to most people. You can still pull the rabbit out of the hat for the others if that satisfies your need to showboat." Lisbon shook her head, honestly he was such a diva at times.

"You make it sound so shallow." Jane laughed self consciously. "Is that really how you see it?"

Lisbon's raised eyebrow was the quick answer to that question. "Look, so long as I'm in on the gag I don't mind so much, but you can make the people around you seem incredibly stupid at times. I'm still trying to re-establish my credentials, and don't forget Abbott only has me here under sufferance. He never really wanted me; I was the one of your terms that he most vehemently resisted. Now I'm here I intend to make the most of it, and being seen just as your patsy doesn't help."

It was rare for Lisbon to address such matters, and the fact that she delivered her verdict without rancour, was a damning indictment of Jane's lack of consideration.

Selfishly Jane hadn't ever really given enough thought to how Lisbon had coped with the aftermath of Red John and the CBI going down. Everything she had worked for had gone down the pan, together with her reputation. Jane had never bought her line that she knew she would lose her job because of him someday, but that was exactly what had happened.

Guiltily Jane realised there must have been financial repercussions for her, she was just starting to get back on her feet and couldn't afford to fail again. Lisbon had always had to make her own way in the world, there was no one to give her a helping hand. Was her insecurity the reason she had taken up with Pike?

Selfishly Jane had turned a blind eye to the consequences of his actions, but now it struck him how much Lisbon must feel the loss of position and influence. They were paid well enough at the FBI, but being relegated to being just another team member must be a bitter pill to swallow, after running her own show for years. Technically Cho was more senior than her, though he never made anything of that, how must that make her feel?

"I'm sorry Teresa, I really didn't think." Jane admitted ashamedly.

"No you rarely do. Fortunately now that I'm not responsible for you it's easier to rationalise what you're doing, though God knows it would be easier if you included me in from the start." Lisbon wasn't having a particular dig at Jane; he would have coped better with anger. Her calm deconstruction of the situation was far more effective; he felt a complete heel at his disregard for her position.

"Teamwork Lisbon, that's the new motto, teamwork." Jane said reassuringly.

"Umm. We'll see. I don't see that lasting long, but I'll enjoy the novelty." Lisbon seriously doubted he could deliver on that.

Frankly Jane didn't see it lasting long either, as he often didn't know what he was going to do in advance - this was definitely going to be a work in progress. He needed the spontaneity to get his creative juices going; anything too rehearsed just wouldn't have the same effect- he fed off people's reactions. They would have to try and find a happy medium.

Jane feigned sleep in the car, as he mulled over things on the way back to their motel. Lisbon glanced over briefly while she was driving, and turned away with a smirk on her face. Jane wasn't fooling her in the slightest, but she respected his need for quiet reflection. That conversation had gotten deeper than either of them intended.

* * *

 **A/N** You probably need to go with the flow on the technical stuff - no doubt there are lots of flaws in the detail.


	11. Chapter 11 : The Company Seal

**Chapter 11 : The Company Seal**

"So what do you make of the rumours about Pike and Lisbon?" Fischer slipped out slyly, wondering if Cho was privy to any news.

"Never listen to rumours." Cho deadpanned, he had way too much respect for Lisbon to be drawn into that conversation.

"Oh you listen plenty Kimball. From what I've heard Pike is none too happy at the moment. The word is that there's trouble in paradise." Fischer added conspiratorially.

"It's none of my business the Boss has a right to a private life." Cho cut Fischer short.

"There you go again calling her the Boss – she hasn't been that for years." Fischer was piqued at Cho's unwavering loyalty to Lisbon.

"I worked with Lisbon for a long time; she made me what I am today. It's ingrained to think of her as the Boss." It was true, regardless of their current situation Cho would always look to Lisbon for guidance.

"She nearly ruined your career as well, some would call that sloppy leadership letting your team risk their livelihoods." Lisbon always brought out the worst in Fischer, and Cho's divided loyalties rankled.

Cho started to bristle with irritation. "We all knew what we were doing; we weren't forced to do anything. I've no regrets about that time, I take pride in the fact that we brought down a serial killer and unearthed a corrupt police network. Lisbon deserves a lot of credit for that."

"She was just sweeping up after Jane just like she always does, it wasn't her initiative." Fischer said dismissively.

"That may be your view, and even Abbott's, but anyone who has worked with her knows she battled with Jane all the way. She's one of the few people capable of standing up to him. Very few people would have stuck their necks out the way Lisbon did, to see things through to the bitter end. Most unit leaders were too concerned with covering their backs to take a risk. Never underestimate Lisbon." Cho was unusually animated.

He guessed Fischer was a bit jealous of the way people warmed to Lisbon. The fact that two of the most eligible men were vying for Lisbon's attention, probably didn't help either. Not many people got to see behind Fischer's frosty exterior, if you got to work with her you started to appreciate her qualities more, but there was no doubt she could hold a grudge, and Cho had never liked the way she revelled in Lisbon's discomfort.

"Never understood how she exerted so much influence over you. You never – you know?" Kim asked meaningfully.

"Of course not!" Cho snapped, feeling distinctly uncomfortable at this point, and wanting to bring this discussion to an end.

"Okay – no need to get shirty. There's more than one way to get a man to do what you want." She ran her finger up Cho's thigh teasingly.

"I'm driving Kim, behave!" Cho had serious doubts about muddying the boundaries between his private and professional life.

What had started off as a one off fling was getting far too regular. They worked hard, and had little time for a social life, and were starting to fall into a pattern, simply because of the lack of other options. Cho doubted Kim was interested in taking matters forward either, he liked her well enough and there was no denying her attractions. Hell, she certainly knew how to put those womanly wiles to good use, but he wouldn't be sorry if she found a new distraction, despite the loss of fringe benefits.

* * *

They met up in Lisbon's room to go over the latest updates, and discuss their strategy going forward. Fischer assumed the lead role in accordance with Abbott's wishes. "Well what you've found out is undoubtedly interesting, but what is it do with us?"

Jane looked at her in disbelief. "We're trying to find out the truth."

"No, we're trying to stop a threat to the infrastructure and apprehend a criminal. Our remit goes no further than that." Fischer guessed Jane was following his own agenda, and was just as concerned about revealing some injustice as he was in catching Stone. It was time to concentrate on the matter in hand.

"So the truth doesn't matter anymore?" Jane argued.

"Of course it does to those directly affected, but unless it's germane to our investigation, it's a luxury we can't afford to get hung up on. Look Abbott's getting heat over this, we need to find and stop Stone. The rest is immaterial to us." Strictly speaking Fischer was correct, but finding Stone and discovering the truth weren't necessarily irreconcilable.

Lisbon piped up, in an attempt to defend their strategy. "But we're building a case, we need to examine all the elements to understand this properly."

"In an ideal world perhaps, but that's not where we are. We need results and we need them now." It was clear why Fischer was destined to rise in the ranks, she didn't shirk from taking unpopular decisions.

Lisbon persisted with an to appeal to Fischer's logic. "Wylie thinks an insider may be involved, surely that's worth investigating?"

"Ok, there's some merit in that, but stick to the case. Remember the oil lobby carries a lot of weight around here. Don't get drawn into some crusade." Fischer looked pointedly at Jane.

Jane eyed Fischer coolly before responding provocatively. "Fidelity, bravery, integrity – isn't that our motto? Fearlessly chasing down crime regardless of vested interests – or has the FBI changed its remit? Did you see a memo to that effect Lisbon?"

"Nope. That's what it says on the seal I believe." Lisbon confirmed warily, not entirely sure where Jane was taking this.

Cho's lips twitched in anticipation, as he saw Fischer rise to the bait. "It's also about making best use of your resources, and not getting embroiled in some personal crusade. We don't have the luxury of being self indulgent." She could be quite imperious at times.

"Well if you want to go strictly by the book I don't know why I'm here. That's not the way I work, but you knew that when you came to lure me from the island. You went above and beyond the call of duty then, positively self indulgent some might say, in your efforts to win me round. So why you think differently now is beyond me." Jane held Fischer's look, unwilling to be the first to break eye contact. Brazen as she was, Fischer couldn't outlast Jane.

Lisbon and Cho exchanged amused looks at the standoff, knowing this was a touchy subject for Fischer. It was unfair of Jane to bring it up, but there was a delicious irony in seeing Fischer's argument turned against her.

Fischer glared angrily. "It was a means to an end, don't flatter yourself."

Jane smiled, satisfied that her mask had finally slipped."Oh believe me I don't. But as you say sometimes you have to follow unconventional methods to get to an end. Why not let Lisbon and me follow this line of questioning through a bit longer, while you and Cho follow your leads down. It will be interesting to see which approach is the more productive in the end."

Cho finally broke his silence."Sounds like a good compromise; if either side makes a breakthrough they're to tell the other. It's not a competition after all." Lisbon nodded in agreement, though she doubted it would work out like that.

Jane and Fischer knew it was exactly that, and both had every intention of coming out on top, a sardonic smile crossed Jane's lips; he was going to enjoy this.

"Let the games begin, and may the best team win." Jane flashed a grin at Lisbon, who glared at him disapprovingly. The only consolation was that Jane and Fischer would be going so hard to emerge victorious, that there was no doubting they would get results.

It was agreed Cho and Fischer would follow up on the insider angle, while Jane and Lisbon investigated the rest of the crew to see if they could make a breakthrough that way. They split into their respective pairings and started to work through their options.

* * *

Jane sifted through the information that had been sent through about the crew; there were four men on the repair detail at the time of the accident. Jane read through their statements, and then called Wylie to check out a few details before laying the details out on the bed for discussion.

Lisbon had been rechecking the accident report, to try and spot anything they may have missed the first time. She looked up to see Jane's machinations were already well under way."Well, what are you thinking?"

"So who apart from Stone got injured?" Jane hadn't read the accident report in any detail, so he was reliant on Lisbon to fill in the minutiae.

"That would be Ford and Casey, both suffered minor abrasions and bruising." The reply came straight back.

" So the remaining crew member Welby wouldn't have been eligible for any compensation. What was he doing at the time?" Jane was starting formulate a picture of events.

"Welby was fetching some gear from the truck, so he was outside the blast zone." Lisbon advised.

"So did the other two claim for any injuries?" Jane didn't look up from his papers, as he fired out the questions.

"Not according to the reports, they were back at work within a couple of weeks." Lisbon was used to Jane's brusqueness when he was trying to assimilate the facts, she paid no heed to it.

"So they were injured enough to take time off work, but neither sought any recompense. Let me guess, these are the two that got promoted." Jane looked up to see Lisbon nodding in confirmation. "Ok, so we want to speak to Welby first, he has nothing to hide and didn't profit from this,"

* * *

There was an air of resignation when Welby saw their badges, their visit wasn't entirely unexpected by the looks of things. Welby was still doing pretty much the same job as before, unlike the others who had ascended the greasy pole. There was a weariness about him, that of a man who just kept plodding along doing the right thing, but never seemed to make much progress. Quiet and unassuming he just faded into the background, eclipsed by the machismo of his more bullish colleagues, though no doubt he contributed just as much.

He motioned them in to the living area; as usual Lisbon took a seat while Jane had his customary look round.

"Nice looking kid." Jane commented, when he stopped in front of a photograph of a smiling young woman.

"Thanks, it's my daughter. She's away at college, just got another year left before she graduates." Welby replied with some pride.

"Expensive business putting a kid through college these days." Jane ventured.

"She's a good kid, works part time to help pay her way. Never takes advantage of anyone." She was clearly the apple of his eye.

"Like her parents I'd imagine, hardworking and diligent." Jane said kindly.

"For all the good it does you." Welby responded with an air of despondency. They had done all the right things as a family, but just seemed to be treading water.

"Must be galling to see others profit from their misdemeanours." Jane tried to direct the conversation back to the accident.

Welby shook his head. "I was warned the conversation might go this way."

Lisbon intervened "That's interesting Sir, exactly who warned you?"

Realising he had probably said the wrong thing Welby stuttered unconvincingly "It's common knowledge you're poking around."

Jane sat down directly opposite him. "The trouble with honest people is that they cannot hide when they are lying. It's patently obvious you are being leant on."

They deliberately said no more, knowing eventually the silence would be unbearable, and Welby would feel obliged to say something.

"It's nothing to do with me, I don't want to get involved." He eventually broke the silence.

"So you're happy that Stone got sold down the river, for something he didn't do." Jane said softly, not wanting to make Welby retreat into defensive mode.

"He shouldn't have signed the forms. He's not completely innocent." Welby responded lamely.

"Well that's the party line. Did you actually hear the conversation between Stone and Brumby?" The consultant kept pushing the questioning along.

"No, I was unloading the truck. I can't say what happened." That at least was true.

"But you heard the others talking afterwards and guessed something was going on." Jane suspected Welby's resistance was weakening.

"What I guessed or think happened counts for nothing, I have no definite proof one way or the other." Welby insisted.

"But you know of someone who might have proof, if I'm not mistaken." Jane said gently.

Welby half closed his eyes and frowned, gathering up his courage before slowly nodding his head.

Lisbon could see he was torn between doing the right thing, and facing the backlash of saying anything. "We've come this far now, you know we are going to find out one way or another. You may as well just tell us Sir."

Swallowing hard, Welby began. "As I said before, I genuinely don't know what was said, and the others kept me at a distance from that point on. Even if I suspected a cover up, I can't prove a thing.

" There was a visit from head office; within hours everything was shut down and the area was quarantined. Brumby was whisked off back to HQ for a debriefing, then one by one we were brought in for questioning. Margaret, the PA who took notes at the meetings, was a god fearing woman and it was obvious from her face that she was unhappy with proceedings. It was made clear to us that it was in our best interests to go with the party line, otherwise we too may be considered culpable.

"I spoke to Margaret briefly afterwards in the waiting room, she was patently disapproving of what she had witnessed. I got called back a couple of times, and we got to know each other slightly. Margaret confided that she thought there was a cover up going on, and she didn't know if she could live with being part of it. She was considering blowing the whistle on the company, I don't know whether she had a premonition that something might happen to her, but she made a point of telling me that if anything happened to her, I should to talk to her niece."

"So what happened to Margaret?" Lisbon guessed things hadn't ended well.

"Some weeks later she suddenly left the company, and then sadly she died in a house fire a few months later, fell asleep with a candle burning they said. So we'll never know the full story, but I always suspected she had put something aside as an insurance policy." Welby concluded.

"Do you know the niece?" Lisbon guessed Welby had contemplated the wisdom of approaching her.

"No I never met Margaret's family, and I would be very circumspect if you approach her. Your movements are being closely monitored, if people find out you're interested in her, you may well put her in danger." It was clear Welby was under significant pressure to keep his counsel, and had no doubts as to how far the interested parties would go to protect themselves.

* * *

Jane and Lisbon realised they were getting into distinctly murky waters, as the conspiracy deepened. They got straight on to Wylie to get him to find out as much as he could about Margaret's death and her family connections. Wylie sounded a bit flustered, and said it might take him a while, as he was following some leads up for Fischer. Jane's ears pricked up at that, but he wouldn't put Wylie on the spot. After all they hadn't got time to worry what the others were up to.

"I'm sure you could get some help from your friends, if you told them we had an urgent play in motion." Jane recalled how eager the geek pool had been to help out last time, and Lisbon had treated them all to a takeout meal as a thank you. "Don't forget to tell them it's hush, hush. No one must know, especially Fischer."

Within half an hour the niece had been identified, and Wylie phoned back."Her name is Donna Lofgren, but what's interesting is that she still works for Yellowstone Oil."

"Now that is interesting. Can you send her details straight over to us?" Jane mulled the implications of that over.

"What about the fire?" Lisbon enquired.

"Seemed an open and shut case at the time, no one looked too closely. Forensics didn't have much to play with as the fire quickly took hold, and there wasn't much evidence left. There's not a lot left when those wooden buildings catch fire. No one had any reason to suppose this was anything other than an unfortunate accident." Wylie concluded.

Lisbon accepted this was probably a dead end, whatever they thought they would never be able to prove anything at this late stage.

Jane cautioned. "Oh and Wylie, if Fischer asks what we're doing don't mention Lofgren just yet."

Wylie hesitated, Fischer had given express orders she was to be kept abreast of everything, but curiously she'd instructed Wylie not to tell Lisbon and Jane what they were doing.

Jane guessed poor Wylie was caught in the middle, Fischer had no intention of playing by the Queensbury rules. In fairness neither did Jane, but he didn't want to compromise Wylie's position."Look just give us a couple of hours before you say anything, if Fischer asks what you're doing just say you're looking into Margaret for now. You can tell her the full story later."

"Okay." Wylie said uncertainly, not sure exactly what was going on, but uncomfortable at the prospect of being caught in the crossfire.

Jane smirked when he rang off, but his enjoyment was rudely interrupted by a sharp punch to the arm.

"Owww, what was that for?" As if he didn't know.

"We said we'd play fair." Lisbon insisted.

"Au contraire my dear Lisbon. You and Cho said you would play fair. Fischer and I knew exactly what we were getting into. All's fair in love and war, and this is most definitely war." He added with a devilish grin.

* * *

 **A/N** A bit of a rush to complete this before the weekend, hope there aren't too many mistakes.


	12. Chapter 12 : The Wacky Races

**Chapter 12 – The Wacky Races**

Fischer descended on Yellowrose HQ like a whirling dervish, brushing aside anything that stood in her way. Following in her wake, as if swept along by a force of nature; Cho couldn't help but feel a frisson of excitement. There was no stopping Kim when she got her teeth into something, she could make Jane seem like a master of diplomacy when she set her mind on getting answers.

The receptionist capitulated within minutes. Her polite attempts to explain that everyone was extremely busy with the systems down, and they really needed to make an appointment counted for nothing. Fischer brusquely deconstructed her argument. "In other words they're all sitting round twiddling their thumbs, or playing games on their phones. I doubt anyone is doing any proper work today."

Like most receptionists, she had been chosen for her urbane manner and pleasing demeanour, so she battled on manfully. "Quite the opposite Ma'am "she said respectfully, "they've decided to bring forward the departmental meetings to make best use of time."

"Perfect. That means they'll all be in one place." Fischer scanned the staff directory, until her eyes alighted on the Director of HR, one Michael Page. "Right we'll start with Michael Page, where can I find him?"

"He's in a meeting and can't be disturbed, I'm afraid." Her attempts to manage Fischer were admirable, if doomed to failure.

Fischer's features took on a sardonic look as she leant forward. "Look, I don't think you're quite getting the hang of this. We're the FBI. For the sake of appearances I'm _asking_ to see these people, but it's not really optional."

Seeing no reaction from the receptionist Fischer brought out the big guns. "How about I give you a choice, if Page doesn't come down to us in the next five minutes, I'm quite happy to go and drag him out of the meeting in front of his staff. I'm not sure how that will look on your CV." Fischer arched her eyebrow meaningfully.

After a series of hushed phone calls, someone finally came down to escort Cho and Fischer to HR. Cho looked over his shoulder apologetically at the harassed receptionist, he had a feeling he'd be doing a lot of sweeping up after Fischer today.

Page was adept enough at reading people to know when he was fighting a losing battle; Fischer's suggestion that they could take the talk back to the FBI had been enough to convince Page to offer his unconditional support. They were hampered by the computer systems not being fully operational, and were reliant on paper records, which took longer to retrieve. Still it was impressive what Fischer had managed to achieve in such a short length of time. With the HR team at her disposal, Fischer rattled through the details of all parties associated with the investigation.

Wylie was kept busy researching a stream of names that Cho was sending through. He was looking for possible connections, to see if there was anything suspicious that warranted further investigation.

The staff was systematically pulled in for questioning, and slowly Cho and Fischer started to hone in on the management team that had been present at the time of the questioning. It was noticeable that there was a reticence to discuss the PA Margaret, however hard Fischer pushed. Lacking Jane's natural charm, Fischer relied on a hardnosed approach to bulldozer people into submission. In reality all she accomplished was to make people defensive, and stick strictly to the facts. There was no incentive to trade hearsay, without something in return.

Fischer never appreciated the maxim about catching more flies with honey than vinegar, and in her desire for speed she rode roughshod over people's sensibilities. However she was a good agent, and had been astute enough to pick up on everyone's discomfiture when Margaret was mentioned.

* * *

Guessing they'd pretty much exhausted their options at Yellowrose, Fischer called Wylie to instruct him to look into Margaret. Picking up on the whiff of fear and some hesitation on Wylie's part, Fischer's bloodhound instincts immediately kicked in, and it wasn't long before she had poor Wylie squirming. "I'm not the first person to ask you about Margaret today, am I?"

"No Ma'am" Wylie said respectfully.

"Didn't I tell you to pass all information on to me?" She barked.

"I get asked to do so many things; I didn't think you'd want to know everything." Wylie floundered, as he desperately tried to tread water.

"I said everything. What part of that didn't you understand?" Wylie swallowed hard, not used to being on the receiving end of Fischer's ball breaking technique.

Wylie glanced at his watch; it was an hour since he'd spoken to Jane. Doing his best to buy Jane and Lisbon some precious time, he waffled on in meticulous detail about the circumstances of Margaret's death. He knew he couldn't hold out much longer.

Eventually Fischer lost patience. "So it's a dead end then? I assume Jane's looking at something else now."

"Not exactly." Wylie winced in anticipation of the backlash.

"Wylie - not exactly what? Spit it out." There was no hiding Fischer's frustration.

"They think her niece might know something. They've asked for her details." Resistance was futile at this point.

"Send me the details." Fischer barked "And remember, I want to know everything. Understood?"

* * *

Guessing Jane and Lisbon wouldn't get there much before them, they sped to Lofgren's home.

Cho parked up close behind the hire car; he permitted himself a half smile, thinking they wouldn't be making a quick get away any time soon. As Fischer was alongside the hire car she stumbled slightly, stooping to adjust her shoes while Cho kept watch. Pulling herself up straight, with a self satisfied smile on her face, she finally approached the door.

"Hello, Ms Lofgren. Agents Fischer and Cho from the FBI, I believe our colleagues have come on ahead of us." Fischer breezed in uninvited, following the sound of the voices to the lounge area.

Jane's initial flash of annoyance at her unexpected entrance, changed to a smile. "Good to see you Fischer, Cho. Ms Lofgren has just been explaining her aunt's arrangements to us. I'm sure you'll find them most illuminating." He stood up to offer Fischer the seat he'd vacated, and sidled over to stand behind Cho.

"Left a trail of bodies behind you did you?" He whispered conspiratorially.

Cho snorted involuntarily, his smirk said everything. Brushing against Cho as he passed, Jane started to prowl around the room observing Fischer with a new found respect. He really hadn't expected them to catch on so quickly.

Unsure how far they had gotten, Fischer started to go through the formalities. Judging by the tea and biscuits, she guessed Jane hadn't got passed the cosy chat stage.

Not wishing to go over old ground, Jane made his excuses and availed himself of Lofgren's facilities. Fischer was too caught up with her questioning to notice Jane's absence or the twinkle in his eyes when he re-appeared.

Returning to Cho's side, Jane nodded in Fischer's direction before softly commenting."I'm impressed. How's Wylie holding up - has he got any fingernails left?"

"Not many. He may need therapy after this afternoon." Cho deadpanned, bristling slightly at the consultant's proximity, knowing Jane never did anything without a reason.

Lofgren was composed and co-operative under questioning, Jane watched her carefully. He had a feeling she was well prepared for their visit, and was giving up the information far too easily. There was more to Lofgren than met the eye. Content to let Fischer steal their thunder, they watched as Lofgren recounted how her aunt had entrusted her with some documents, which she in turn had lodged with her legal representative for safekeeping.

Lisbon interrupted to ask Lofgren for a letter authorising them to access the documents, as speed was of the essence. Lofgren duly obliged, and was about to hand the signed missive over to Lisbon, when Fischer snatched it away.

"Thanks Ms Lofgren, I'll take that. We'll leave our colleagues to wrap up here." Fischer grinned like the Cheshire Cat, as she swept out of the room. Cho felt for his keys, strange he usually kept them in his right hand pocket but they were in his other pocket. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Jane, why did he have a bad feeling about this?

While Lofgren was seeing them out, Lisbon turned to Jane. "Ok, so clearly that's a false trail. Let's find out the real story." Jane beamed in approval; the wizard's apprentice was coming on nicely.

Lofgren seemed surprised they were still seated when she came back, clearly expecting them to follow their colleagues.

Lisbon started. "We just have a few more items to go over Ms Lofgren, do you mind if we call you Donna."

A quick nod indicated that was ok, as Donna eyed them warily.

"So how about you show us the real documents, not the redacted copy lodged as your insurance policy." Lisbon went straight for the jugular, the time for pleasantries was over.

Realising she was holding a busted flush Lofgren leant back in her seat, composed to the last she coolly replied. "Now why would I want to do that?"

"To make things easier for yourself Donna. Our techs can get the information off your computer in no time. You do yourself no favours by obstructing us." Lisbon warned.

"How long have you known Zach Stone?" Jane asked quietly.

Donna was briefly taken aback, Jane could tell he'd scored a direct hit.

In the absence of a response from her Jane ploughed ahead. "It's only natural you would have something in common with Zach, after all you both had a grievance against the company. You're of a similar age, perhaps that lead to something more personal? Two bright young people on a common mission, it would hardly be surprising if you hooked up."

Lisbon took over. "It's obvious you're the inside man, you have access to the systems. You planted the malware on one of the workstations, allowing Zach access to the network."

Donna was impressed. "You've clearly been doing your homework Agent Lisbon."

"We have, which is why resistance is futile. You may as well give us the full copies of the documents now. Surely you want to see the guilty parties brought to justice?" Lisbon reasoned.

"They're administering their own justice Lisbon, I'm sure they have their own plans for the documents. That being the case, why don't you just give us a copy and be done with it? It's not going to make any difference after all is it?" Jane guessed their plans were so far advanced, it was academic whether they handed the documents over, and no doubt they would soon be in the public domain one way or another.

Donna put up no further resistance, it was true the wheels were already in motion and couldn't be stopped. However she refused point blank to discuss Stone or his whereabouts, she would live with the consequences of that. With a twinge of regret, Lisbon watched the local field agents take Donna in for questioning; naturally her computer and phone were confiscated.

Lisbon took comfort in knowing that at least the bad guys would also be getting their just desserts. She felt Jane's eagle eye on her, he nodded reassuringly to mirror her feelings. They had no choice but to arrest Donna.

* * *

Satisfied with putting that business to rest, they returned to the car to find a flat tyre. Seeing no sign of damage, Lisbon guessed Fischer had been up to her tricks. Tired and cranky she brushed aside Jane's offer of help and set about changing the tyre, muttering darkly to herself about childish antics as she glared accusingly at Jane.

Fischer had been full of herself when they left. "I showed him who's in charge. Did you see Lisbon's face when I took that letter? I wish I could have had a photograph of that."

"Was it really necessary to let down their tyre Kim?" Cho had a feeling Jane wouldn't let that pass without some form of retribution.

Fischer just flashed him a grin. "Don't be so straight laced Kimball – doesn't it feel good to get one over on Jane?"

Cho wasn't averse to getting one over on Jane, but he wasn't at all confident that they'd succeeded. He didn't like the way Jane and Lisbon had capitulated, and was convinced that Jane had something up his sleeve.

A few miles down the road the car engine started to splutter and they started to lose power, eventually the car stuttered to a halt. Guessing this was Jane's doing, Cho considered the options for sabotage and examined the exhaust pipe. The white tinge was a sure indicator of water in the fuel; It wouldn't cause any lasting damage but would stop the engine from functioning efficiently. If Jane had put too much water in the tank, they wouldn't have been able to start the car, so it was possible one of the ethanol based fuel additives, which dissolve in the water, would soon sort the problem out.

Fischer simmered angrily at the roadside, as they waited for the recovery vehicle. She took some comfort from the fact that Jane could do nothing without the letter in her possession. It rankled nevertheless when Lisbon slowed the car down as they drove by, tooting the horn and waving as they pulled away.

"A bit juvenile don't you think Lisbon?" Jane loved it when Lisbon joined in proceedings.

"You said it was war." She grinned.

Contrary to what Fischer thought, they weren't racing them to the law firm, so they had time to stop for a drink at one of the roadside trucks. They leant against the car soaking up the sun as they finished their drinks, unperturbed when they saw Cho and Fischer pass by triumphantly, blaring their horn as they sped into the lead.

"Oh that reminds me Lisbon, I need you to call the law firm before Fischer gets there. Pretend to be Lofgren, just say some people may try and get the documents under false pretences. To be absolutely sure, get them to check for a tattoo before handing anything over." Jane's eyes twinkled with mischief.

"Tattoo?" Lisbon repeated slowly.

"Yes you heard. Tell them the female agent has a butterfly tattoo." Jane felt Lisbon's eyes boring into him.

"I've never seen a tattoo on Fischer. What exactly did happen on the island Jane?" Lisbon asked suspiciously.

"Absolutely nothing like that Lisbon, I assure you. Let's just say it's amazing what you can learn in the men's room." Jane looked warily at Lisbon, anticipating her reaction.

"Oh God. Is nothing sacred?" She exclaimed in disgust, dreading to think what had been said about her.

Jane averted his eyes not wanting to get drawn into that, it wasn't a problem when both partners were discrete. Unfortunately Pike had been too eager to put his claim on Lisbon, and Cho wasn't the first agent Fischer had taken for a road test.

To cheer Lisbon up a bit, Jane divulged exactly where Fischer's tattoo was supposed to be. A wicked grin broke out on Lisbon's face. So much for solidarity, the bitch had it coming!

Lisbon's satisfaction was further compounded, when they saw Cho and Fischer had been pulled up for speeding by a highway patrol. Jane just wagged his finger at them disapprovingly, as they did a slow drive by. They sped away serenely, like Penelope Pitstop and Peter Perfect on the final lap, leaving Dastardly and Muttley thwarted yet again.

* * *

Just when Fischer thought the day couldn't get any worse, the lawyer advised them that they had been warned about some bogus agents, and wouldn't hand over the documents without the prerequisite proof of identity. Cho's eyes were like saucers, knowing the exact location and nature of Fischer's tattoo. No entreaties or threats carried any weight with the lawyers. It was incumbent on them to comply with their clients instructions. Eventually Fischer bowed to the inevitable and started to undo her trousers. Honestly the things she had to do for the job...

* * *

 **A/N** All a bit silly I'm afraid.


	13. Chapter 13 : Tit For Tat

**Chapter 13 : Tit for Tat.**

Cho couldn't decide which was worse, the lawyer visibly blanching at the proof of identity, or Fischer's annoyance when he peered forward for a more detailed examination. Either way it had been an unedifying episode, and one he was sworn to secrecy about. He had to admit Jane had really done it this time; this would be hard to top.

Flinging the doors open Fischer strode imperiously to the car, holding her head high, refusing to be bowed by what might have been a crushing blow for others. Cho's eyes smouldered, as he watched the hypnotic rhythm of her indignant hips pneumatically working from side to side. Loosening his tie slightly, and flicking his tongue over his lips, he followed her to the car as if drawn by some feral impulse.

"What?" Fischer had caught his look.

"You're kinda hot when you're mad." Cho couldn't help mentally undressing her in the heat of the moment.

"Really Kimball?" She rolled her eyes in disbelief. "Seriously, there's work to do." Taking a seat in the car, she purposefully perused the documents. The smug satisfaction of outwitting the other team soon faded, as it became all too apparent that their ill gotten gains didn't actually amount to much. "Darn this is just about Yellowrose, and pretty sketchy to boot. It doesn't really get us forward"

"Maybe Jane and Lisbon found out more from questioning Lofgren." His suspicions about the ease with which they had capitulated still nagged away at Cho. In their childish attempt of one-upmanship they had taken their eye off the ball. They had in fact just done precisely what Jane had originally intended, and revealed the cover up at Yellowrose, but weren't actually any closer to locating Stone.

The realisation of that was starting to hit Fischer; the logical thing was to liaise with Jane or Lisbon, but Fischer was seething that she had allowed Jane to play her.

"I well and truly messed that up." Fischer admitted with brutal honesty, it was one of her better characteristics that she took responsibility for her failings.

"You won't be the last one that Jane trips up. Look I'll chat to Wylie and see what's going on, so we're up to speed by time we meet up with them." Cho said reassuringly.

"Oh God, he's going to be insufferably smug. How am I going to look him in the eye?" Fischer could happily throttle that damned consultant; this was by far and away his worst stunt yet.

"Seriously, just brazen it out. Make a joke about it – turn it back on him. He'll respect that." It wouldn't be easy for her, but Cho knew Fischer had the chutzpah to carry it off. No one could accuse her of being a shrinking violet.

Accepting the wisdom of his words a sly smile crept across her face. "So you've got a thing for angry women then Kimball?"

"Depends on the context." He replied enigmatically, Fischer didn't miss the smirk on his face.

* * *

Like all performers Jane liked to be appreciated, after all what was the point in executing the best trick in the world, if there wasn't an appreciative audience. Desperate for feedback on his latest ruse, he was uncharacteristically restless for once.

"You know she'll get you back for this sometime; it may take months but one day you'll need her and she won't be there for you." It was all very well Jane scoring cheap points, but they had to work with the rest of the unit. Lisbon was determined to knuckle down, and try to make some headway before the others returned.

"You're no fun Lisbon." Jane muttered in response to Lisbon's best school ma'am look, before transferring his attention back to the case in hand.

The documents in their possession included copies of Margaret's handwritten minutes of meetings, before they had been officially sanitised. They were a damning indictment of those involved in the cover up, whether they would be admissible in a court of law was debatable, but their very existence meant that the investigation would have to be re-opened. The disclosures could be used to exert pressure, and it was just a question of time before one of the conspirators squealed, and a case could be built on the back of that.

Jane turned his attention back to Zach Stone, he had been meticulous in covering his tracks, it was what he had been trained to do. They could only hope that despite her silence, Donna may have inadvertently left a trail worth following. Thinking along similar lines Lisbon had already asked Wylie to send over details of any recent bank or credit card transactions, so they could look for any tell tale patterns.

Wylie looked round the office before speaking. "I hear Abbott's not happy. He's had a raft of complaints on his desk today. What's going on?"

"Well you may be surprised to hear it's not Jane for once - let's just say things have got a bit competitive round here today." Lisbon wasn't going to give any details, she reckoned Fischer had suffered enough today.

"Sorry I couldn't buy you any more time." Wylie's loyalties were torn, as it was Cho who had given him his first break, but he'd been willing on team Lisbon nevertheless.

"You should never have been asked to withhold information." A quick glare at Jane left no doubt who that remark was aimed at. "If Cho calls just let him know what you're looking into."

Wylie felt altogether more comfortable after Lisbon's soothing words, he had been walking a precarious line all day, and frankly Fischer scared the bejesus out of him.

Before long Wylie had sent the requested information through, and Jane scanned the data seeking a connection no matter how tenuous. There had been a flurry of purchases in the last few weeks that hinted at a journey, but gave nothing away about the destination. Additionally there had been substantial cash withdrawals but they had no means of saying what they'd been used for.

Maybe they ought to go back to the house and do a more thorough search; the paper trail in itself was giving little away. Lofgren had been well schooled by Stone; she hadn't bought so much as a travel guide on her credit cards. Despite Jane's suspicions about Stone being in Mexico, he knew Abbott would hardly sanction a trip there on a mere flight of fancy.

They were just contemplating the best way forward when there was a resolute knock at the door; they barely hid their surprise at Abbott's unheralded arrival. His irritation was evident as he brushed aside their pleasantries, in favour of being apprised of the progress to date. Excusing himself briefly to use the facilities, he took the opportunity of a brief respite to try and make some sense of what he had heard.

* * *

Deciding she may as well face the music straight away, Fischer considered her strategy. Cho's advice was sound, but if she could have a bit of payback at the same time, it wouldn't be so hard to swallow. Seeing as Jane had hit below the belt, she would give him a dose of his own medicine. Arching her eyebrows mischievously she knocked on the door, the element of surprise was on their side, and Jane wouldn't have a clue what she was up to.

"Why Lisbon where's that rascal hiding - I can't believe he did that!" Lisbon was somewhat nonplussed; Kim seemed to be taking this better than expected.

Jane looked up with a degree of suspicion, wary of what was coming next.

"Why you good for nothing scoundrel, I should have known there would be a catch." She laughed bawdily as she teased Jane, giving his hair a friendly ruffle. She felt Jane tense beneath her touch, which angered her further. Seeing Lisbon's eyes narrow apprehensively, Fischer reckoned she could kill two birds with one stone.

"I thought we agreed what happened on the island, stayed on the island." Fischer wagged her finger at him reprovingly, and left that hanging mid air, leaving everyone else to fill the gaps in.

Jane looked anxiously at Lisbon "It's just a joke Lisbon. Bravo Fischer, good to see you can take a joke."

Lisbon didn't look so sure; there had definitely been an atmosphere between Fischer and Jane since he had come back. She felt inexplicably hurt at the thought that he may have misled her, even though she had no right to in the circumstances.

Fischer hadn't been aware of Abbott coming back into the room, and witnessing what had been said. She blushed furiously when she became aware of his presence. Cho just rolled his eyes, when would Kim ever learn.

"Tell her Fischer. You've had your joke now." Jane's tone was sharper now.

Seeing how it had affected Jane, she was loathe to concede her advantage. With a quick glance at Abbott, who was eyeing her curiously, Fischer bit the bullet.

"Ok if that's the way you want to play it Jane so be it. I know when to toe the party line." She winked conspiratorially at him.

Jane's lips went white with anger as he saw her game. Lisbon regarded him scathingly, disappointed at his apparent duplicity. Without dropping to Fischer's level, there was little he could do to rebut the insinuation, especially if she mentioned him taking his ring off. There hadn't even been so much as a drunken fumble, so why did he feel so guilty?

It didn't matter that Lisbon had since gone on her own merry way; she had waited for him for two years, and the very idea that he had taken his ring off, and considered a casual liaison nauseated him.

Abbott observed it all with dismay; the team was in danger of falling apart at the seams. He didn't know what the hell had gotten into Fischer today; his most reliable of agents had gone completely off the rails. Wyllie was a nervous wreck, Yellowrose had lodged an official complaint, and he had no idea what was going on between the two teams.

"Look let's break this up for now, and reconvene after we've eaten." Abbott needed to have a quiet word with them one on one, to defuse the situation.

"Well that cooked his goose." Fischer crowed as they made their way back to their rooms. Her look of satisfaction really got to Cho; he just gave her a disparaging look.

"You coming in?" Fischer inclined her head towards her room meaningfully.

"I think this has run its course Kim. It's time to call it a day." They needed to put their relationship back on a professional footing. A joke was a joke, but it was unacceptable to deliberately hurt someone, and Cho's loyalties would always lie with Lisbon.

Still numb at what she had witnessed Lisbon mumbled some excuses, and soon followed Cho and Kim out of the room, leaving Abbott and Jane alone.

"Well this is a fine pickle." Abbott said with some understatement.

"Indeed it is." Jane sighed.

"Just tell her the truth, we all know nothing happened." Abbott advised.

"Meh. She'll believe what she wants to believe." Jane was disappointed that Lisbon had accepted Fischer's version so uncritically.

Abbott patted him on the back comfortingly as he left. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he tapped lightly on Lisbon's door.

"Go away Jane, I don't want to talk." Lisbon responded.

"Lisbon, it's Abbott can I have a word?" The door opened and he went in, rather than confront the issue head on he went about it in a roundabout manner. "As the voice of sanity, do you want to tell me what has been going on here today? It's obvious something has gone badly wrong."

Lisbon swallowed hard, wondering where to begin without landing anyone in it. "I'm afraid friendly rivalry got out of hand; a discussion about different methods of investigation resulted in a wager as to which methods would yield the best results. Then I'm afraid both sides took extreme measures to make their point."

Abbott waved his hand. "It's all right, I don't need to know the details, but why is Fischer so mad at Jane? I've never seen her act like this before."

Reluctantly Lisbon told him about the tattoo naturally omitting any details, to her surprise Abbott threw back his head and guffawed loudly, banging the arm of him chair with his palm. "Ah the butterfly – no wonder Fischer is so mad." Seeing Lisbon's look of surprise he explained. "I'm ashamed to say the locker room isn't as discrete as it should be."

"That's what Jane said." Lisbon conceded.

"Have you ever considered he might be telling the truth? Why would he go through solitary confinement to hold out for his final demand, if it meant so little to him?" Abbott's words rang true, and Lisbon resolved to deal with this.

* * *

Fresh after a quick shower, Lisbon determined not to let this fester. Jane's anxiety was evident when he opened the door, unsure of Lisbon's reaction. A quick glance told him that the worst had passed, but he resolved to come clean about what had happened so that Fischer wouldn't be able to play that card again.

With a weak smile, he ushered her into to his room and composed his thoughts in preparation.

"It's ok Jane, I realise now that Fischer was just causing trouble. After what you did to her, you can't really complain that much. When will you learn there are consequences to your actions?"

Lifting his eyes to meet hers. "I'm all too aware of the consequences of my actions Teresa; you should know that better than most."

"You know I didn't mean that, I would never bring that up." They were getting their wires crossed already.

"I know, but I think we do need to clear the air a bit, I'd like to tell you my version of events so there can be no misunderstandings." Jane motioned for her to take a seat.

A nod of the head encouraged him to go on, Lisbon agreed it would be better out in the open.

"When I first got to the island I wasn't interested in company, I'd exchange superficial pleasantries with some of the vendors and Alfredo in the beach cafe, but by and large I was content with my thoughts. I had a lot of things to reconcile, and I knew some day I'd have to pay the piper. So I just lived from day to day. I thought about you all the time, and eventually I started to put things down on paper, the letters I didn't send were probably more revealing than the ones I did. But I was truly caught in limbo, neither deserving to move forward nor having any meaningful sort of life. I eked out a hollow existence; I had no right to think ahead.

"And so it went on, one sorry day after another, I wasn't particularly sad, I was just numb. Detached from what went on around me, the days barely changed with the seasons, maybe a bit wetter at times but nothing to really distinguish any one day from another in the continuum. After the first year I started to take more notice of my surroundings and started talking to engage with the townspeople. I should have made an effort to learn the language better, but that would have implied a permanence I wasn't ready for.

"Eventually I started to make peace with my demons, but the futility of the situation would weigh me down. What is a life if you don't live it in full? Feelings started to awaken in me, I could start to take pleasure in the little things in life, amusing the street kids, bantering with Franklin at the hotel, enjoying the odd beer with Roger.

"It was about this point that Kim turned up on the island – I was ready for company. I know that sounds selfish, so when she asked me to join her for a meal I saw no harm in it. To my shame I took my ring off that night, I can make all sorts of lame excuses for that, but I guess I wanted to see if I was ready to move on.

"We had a great time, I drank more than I was used to, but as the evening went on there was a tightening in my stomach when I realised I may be getting myself in to dangerous waters. I was barely ready to dip my toes in the water let alone swim. So when I was attacked it saved me from having to confront that. Kim stayed to watch over me. Aided by the alcohol, I took refuge in sleep until the discomfort started to wake me up. Kim left, I put my ring back on, and apart from a chaste parting kiss nothing happened."

Jane had been watching Lisbon as he spoke, to see how his words were received, he didn't want this to come between them again.

Gingerly Lisbon voiced what was concerning her. "What would have happened if you hadn't been attacked?"

Dropping his head, unable to look Lisbon in the face he quietly answered "I honestly don't know." Raising his eyes to meet hers, he could see her disappointment. "Teresa, I'm trying to be honest here, not just tell you what you want to hear. Who knows I may have had a panic attack, it happened when I tried to take Kristina out that once. More likely Kim would have backed out, but perhaps the flesh would have been weak. If I'm being brutally honest, I cannot say what would have happened."

A quick nod showed that Lisbon accepted that they were just two ships that passed in the night. "So why did Fischer have it in for you when you came back?"

"Well I didn't exactly play nice, I went out of my way to wind her up. I was sore that she wiled her way under my defences. But in the end I was grateful to her because she made me think of home, and I knew I had to see you again." Jane lay his feelings bare to Lisbon.

"Thanks for telling me." A shy smile lit up Lisbon's face. "I must confess, I'd always wondered what happened, and Fischer went out of her way to be partnered with you at first."

Jane's relief was palpable; he was glad to finally lay that demon to rest.

Lisbon wasn't prepared to let him completely off the hook. "Are you going to try and put this right with Fischer? She's a good agent, but unless you address this there will always be a lingering animosity. You don't have to be bosom buddies, but we do need to work together."

Jane rolled his eyes "Oh really Lisbon. Do I have to?"

Lisbon's arms were folded, she meant business. Sighing heavily, Jane muttered. "I suppose we can work something out."

* * *

A/N Not sure when the next update will be, I'm out and about next week.


	14. Chapter 14 : Colour Coded

**Chapter 14 : Colour Coded**

Dennis Abbott might not be a mentalist, but he hadn't got this far up the tree without knowing a few things about people. Sometimes it paid to be hands off, and see if people could resolve their differences without intervention. After all if you were good enough to work for the FBI, you should be good enough to work under your own initiative, once the guidelines had been established, and Abbott had never felt the need to micromanage everything.

Despite his imposing presence, Abbott's bark was worse than his bite. He was quite tolerant up to a point, but once that point had been crossed woe betide anyone who tried to get the better of him. Dennis Abbott in full flow was a force to be reckoned with, and would have no compunction about knocking a few heads together, regardless of who they belonged to. Hell, Jane could test the patience of a saint, but Fischer didn't always know when to let things go. They would always rub each other up the wrong way, but so long as they got results Abbott wasn't unduly bothered.

It was obvious to Abbott that for all Jane's highfaluting schemes and high handed methods, he genuinely cared what Lisbon thought. When Lisbon let rip, Jane would take on the air of a leery child, slowly testing the waters to see if it was safe to surface again. The pride Jane took in showcasing her abilities, was all too often negated by involving Lisbon in one of his half baked schemes.

Abbott guessed they'd worked together for so long, that they didn't know how to be anything but friends. Crossing that line between friendship and something else was a tricky thing to do at the best of times, let alone with two people with as much baggage as this pair. It was hardly surprising Lisbon jumped at Pike, when the opportunity arose.

Under the pretext of examining the somewhat limited menu, Abbott barely looked up when Jane and Lisbon arrived in the dining room together. It didn't escape his notice that they had clearly resolved their issues. Fischer naturally took the seat next to Abbott, leaving Cho a choice of seats. Abbott narrowed his eyes when Cho deliberately snubbed Fischer, and chose to sit next to Lisbon.

"Alrighty then children, play time is over." Abbott looked pointedly round the table. "Let's get to work while we eat. So Kim where are we?"

"We've passed the details of the Yellowrose cover up conspiracy on to the local field office. They'll handle that aspect of the case, as it's not our primary concern. We still haven't located Stone, but Lisbon may have an update on the Lofgren situation." Fischer paused to let Lisbon take up the story.

"Well, none of our enquiries have come to much yet either. We can't find a money trail to link her to Stone, but like Stone she's made significant cash withdrawals. We thought another look around her place might yield some clues. However careful people are, the temptation to keep telltale items of sentimental value can be revealing." Lisbon knew it wasn't much, but it was the best they could offer.

"Ok, Jane and Fischer can go check the house out first thing." Abbott would force the issue one way or another.

"Well that will be fun." Jane quipped. Cho and Lisbon exchanged amused looks, wishing they could be a fly on the wall in that outing.

"Cho and I can do that." Fischer vainly insisted.

"No, I think your experience combined with Jane's skill set are just the job, besides I have other things for Cho to do." The smile on Abbott's face belied the firmness of his voice. Fischer cast a wary look in Jane's direction, who by now looked a picture of innocence.

Half way through the meal Jane briefly disappeared, and Lisbon noticed the self satisfied look on his face when he sat back down. Crap what was he doing now? Narrowing her eyes slightly, she cast a quick glare in his direction. Jane just smiled back serenely.

Once the main course was finished, Jane piped up. "I hope no one minds but I've taken the liberty of ordering dessert." He motioned for the waitress to bring the ice creams over. Decorated with brightly coloured umbrellas they were carefully placed in front of each agent, Fischer's was the last to arrive with a white flag mounted atop the dessert.

There was a latent silence as everyone looked from Jane to Fischer. Jane looked challengingly at Fischer and he said a single word. "Truce?"

It offered them both a way out, without the need to back down or apologise. It was merely a cessation of hostilities, for the benefit of the rest of the team. A curt nod from Fischer was all that was needed by way of agreement, accompanied by knowing exchange of looks between them. Like the accomplished operator he was, Abbott took it all in. He didn't care how they worked it out, so long as the team functioned effectively.

Lisbon collared Jane after the meal. "Well that was a cop out." She fixed Jane with a stare and watched him squirm uncomfortably.

Annoyed that he could no longer fool Lisbon so easily, he just flashed his best conman smile, the one he normally saved for marks. "Well it's a process. Who knows maybe it's the start of a beautiful friendship?"

Lisbon rolled her eyes "More likely best of enemies. Seriously Jane play nice tomorrow when you go out with Fischer." The words were spoken more in hope than anticipation that either Jane or Fischer would behave particularly well, at least if they would concentrate on the case that would be something.

* * *

Unlike Lisbon who preferred to be in control, Fischer was quite content to be chauffeured around, it appealed to her sense of self importance. Frankly Jane was glad of the opportunity to keep busy so that they didn't have to engage that much, however that didn't mean he couldn't indulge in a spot of payback.

Watching Fischer out of the corner of his eye, Jane put his foot down hard, throwing the car around the corners, to try and elicit a reaction from Fischer. Much to his annoyance, she just ignored him, even when one particularly sharp manoeuvre swayed her over to the side. Grudgingly Jane gave her full marks for cool.

Enjoying the freedom to put his foot down, without Lisbon's censure, Jane continued to goad Fischer by braking sharply at the last minute. Fischer finally cracked her face at the sound of a police car siren, as Jane was forced to pull over and face the music.

Jane cursed under his breath; it was a bad enough being lectured by the patrol man without having Fischer witness it. Jumping out of the car with alacrity, he attempted to redress the power dynamic by meeting the patrol man standing up.

"In a hurry?"The patrol man drawled laconically as he gave Jane the once over. The bruising, though starting to fade, still gave Jane a roguish look.

"Indeed we are officer. I'm Patrick Jane with the FBI, and we're on urgent business in connection with the spate of pipeline attacks."

The patrol man looked suspiciously at Jane's laminate. "This tells me nothing, you could be any kind of consultant for all I know. It's not as if you hold a badge." He put his hand down to reach for his tickets.

Sensing he wasn't getting through, Jane reluctantly appealed to his colleague. "Agent Fischer can confirm everything, we're on pressing business and need to move on."

Much to Jane's annoyance, Fischer had pulled out a nail file, and was slowly perfecting one of her manicured ovals, while staring vacuously at her hand. It was nice to see Jane under the cosh for a change.

"Sure looks like she's in a hurry." The officer shook his head, he'd heard every excuse in the book. Jane glared at Fischer exasperatedly.

"License and proof of insurance." The pen was poised to fill in the ticket details.

"Is this really necessary, aren't we supposed to be on the same side after all?" Jane's frustration was evident.

"License and proof of insurance." The patrol man repeated.

"It's just legalised extortion. You want people to slow down? Park out in the open where they can see you. But no you wait like thieves in the night." Jane railed against the system, but had taken it too far and riled the patrol man.

Without warning Jane was turned and shoved against the car, his legs were kicked apart for good measure. "Right that's it I'm taking you in, then we'll see who has the last laugh."

Jane was pressed against the window facing Fischer in the car, she just formed an O with her mouth and raised her eyebrows in amusement. Finally when she saw the handcuffs coming out, she slowly reached for her badge and got out of the car.

"Sorry to disappoint you officer but Goldilocks really is one of ours." Fischer showed her badge to the irate patrol man. "He's telling the truth. I know it's hard to believe, but what can I say it's the new way of fighting crime. The powers that be don't have to work with these bozos. Just give him the ticket and we'll be on our way."

Jane just looked to the heavens, as Fischer had her say. It was definitely round one to Kim.

The disgruntled officer wrote out the ticket. "Mind you pay that by the end of the week, otherwise I'll get a bench warrant out for your arrest FBI or not."

"Happy now?" Jane muttered as he got back behind the wheel.

"Well my day is definitely improving." Fischer grinned back.

* * *

They pulled up to Lofgren's in silence. Jane had to admit Kim had proven to be a worthwhile adversary, but they needed to put that to one side and concentrate on the case. Fischer took the bedroom while Jane searched the living area.

There was a packed case in the wardrobe full of everyday essentials rather than holiday clothes, though the choices were geared towards sunny climes. Checking the case for secret compartments, Fischer found a false identity and a stash of $50 bills for emergencies. There was nothing that hinted at the intended destination.

Jane was drawing a blank in the living area. Eschewing the prospect of a systematic search, he scanned the room for anything out of the ordinary. Finally his eyes settled on a picture on the wall, the vivid primary colours were at odds with the neutral palette in the living area. It was a bright coastal scene, azure blue sea, thatched umbrellas dotted around on the beach, all set against the backdrop of colourful stalls and restaurants.

Noticing there was a slight smudge on the wall by the picture, Jane slowly turned the frame round and examined the back of it. The metal clips holding the backing in place looked as if they had been bent a few times, so he carefully levered them up. A self satisfied smile crossed his face, when he saw an envelope in place.

Slowly examining the contents of the envelop, he shouted out "Fischer, I think I've found something."

Jane was looking at some photographs of Stone and Lofgren together, on the very beach depicted in the painting. No doubt Lofgren would have taken them with her, if she'd been able to make an escape. Jane handed the evidence over to Fischer. " I think Wylie will identify this as the same place we found in Stone's photographs, I have no doubt this is where Stone is hiding."

Fischer nodded in agreement, and took some phone shots of the evidence, and sent them over to Wylie before phoning Abbott.

"Boss, I think we've got something. It looks like Jane was right about Stone being in Mexico. I'm just waiting for Wylie to confirm now." Fischer was back in professional mode now.

By time they'd returned to the others, Wylie had confirmed Jane's suspicions. Abbott had a decidedly hassled air about him, having just come off the phone to Schultz, who was demanding to know what was going on. The Yellowrose website had been hacked, and Stone had published the minutes of the accident reports on the homepage, together with photographs of the guilty parties. A report of Margaret's death was also included, it didn't take much to make the connection even if no case would even be proven.

The publicity would be damaging for Yellowrose, the safety executive would take them to task and they would be liable for prosecution over the cover up. The individuals named would have their reputations ruined. Jane guessed Stone's revenge was complete, he wouldn't be so crude as to try and extort anything from the company. The lawyers would be queuing up to take on his father's case now, hungry for a percentage of a big fat settlement.

It all seemed a bit pointless pursuing Stone now, at least so far as Jane was concerned. Sadly Abbott and the forces of law and order took a different view. All Jane could hope for, was to bring this to a peaceful conclusion without any collateral damage. And so it was that the unit made their way over the border in pursuit of Stone.

* * *

 **A/N** A very short chapter, as I seem to have lost the ability to string together a coherent sentence.


	15. Chapter 15 : All's Well That Ends Well

**Chapter 15 : All's Well That Ends Well**

Jane was uncharacteristically quiet as they made their way over the border. He was propped up against the door in the back of the company SUV, mulling things over, contemplating how best to calm things down. With Abbott on the warpath, following his roasting by Schultz, Jane knew they would take in Stone by any means, and he was desperate to avoid a fatality outcome.

Shultz had justified their foray over the border by claiming extraterritorial jurisdiction, on the basis that Stone was a suspected terrorist. The team knew that was stretching the truth a bit, but Schultz was determined to get a result one way or another, and Abbott knew she didn't particularly care how they bought Stone back. Although he could accept Jane's logic that Stone was probably no longer a threat, Abbott was duty bound to bring him to justice.

Having exchanged the SUV for some battered hire cars some miles back, so as not to announce the arrival of the FBI, the team had made some last minute purchases in an attempt to blend in more. It was obvious the others planned to stake out the place, but Jane was convinced he could get results by an altogether more subtle approach.

Dressed in cropped trousers and a flimsy kaftan to protect her pale skin, Lisbon put the finishing touches to her usual disguise by donning her trademark floppy hat and oversized sunglasses. Jane's eyes crinkled at her appearance, he'd always had a soft spot for that look.

Fischer was confidently parading the beach in a colourful ensemble, while Abbott skulked around a seafront bar with a half drunk espresso in front of him. Fairly glowering with intent, no one in their right mind was going to try and move him on.

The resort had seen better days, whatever grandeur it once had was well and truly faded. The peeling paint added to the charm of the place, it was a refuge for the hoi poloi stretching out their meagre budgets. Jane immediately felt at home there, it brought back memories of Isla Margarita and his years in exile.

Wondering where Cho was, Jane scanned the horizon until his eyes settled on an incongruous sight. Grinning with mischief, Jane stealthily approached the figure he'd spotted. There was something so wrong about the man with the droopy moustache, hat and shades, who at first sight could have passed for a local, had he not been holding his guitar like an AK47. The whole stance was too rigid and just so wrong.

Jane approached Cho from behind, he felt Cho jump slightly when he leant over to whisper. "Bit less of the copness Cho, it's a musical instrument not a weapon." Cho looked down to where his hands were wrapped round the neck of the guitar, which was pointing forwards.

"At least I'm in disguise, where's yours?" Cho countered irritably, feeling the effects of the heat from just standing around.

"I'm in disguise." Jane blithely responded.

Keeping his eyes trained on the beach, he knew it was a sucker punch but Cho couldn't help being drawn into the question. "What as?"

"Sherlock Holmes." The sarcastic reply was entirely predictable.

"No shit." Cho said drily

"Well he'd hardly wear a deerstalker on the beach." Jane had no intention of taking part in this game of charades; he never looked like a cop at the best of times so a disguise was unwarranted.

They were wasting their time anyhow, word on the street was that the FBI were in town and there was a general wariness about the place; no way were they fooling anyone with their act. The team had been canvassing the bars and restaurants all day showing them pictures of Stone, all to no avail. If Stone got wind of it he would just go to ground or disappear in the wind. With the general hostility towards the FBI no one was going to volunteer information for fear of reprisals later. Being a snitch was not a good career move in this neck of the woods.

* * *

Abbott's temper was starting to fray; he was beginning to think they were on a fool's errand. The prospect of having no news for Schultz was weighing heavily on him. At the end of his tether, Abbott agreed to give Jane some latitude with his plan. They would make a tactical withdrawal into the background, just leaving Jane and Lisbon with the play in motion.

Jane got Wylie to send over a good quality copy of the photo of Stone and Lofgren by phone. Finding a place that ran off photos, Jane procured some post card sized prints and wrote an identical message on the back of each one. The cards were dropped off at strategic venues, and having double checked the view in the photo, Jane picked out a nondescript restaurant where he would wait for events to unfold.

Joining up with him after distributing the last of the cards, Lisbon took shelter from the late afternoon heat. She just shook her head at Jane making no attempt to fit in, as he sat with his pot of tea in front of him, and looking totally out of place in his pinstripes. His only concession to the heat had been to remove the jacket and open up the waistcoat.

"Tea, is that your answer for everything? Come on, Jane tell me what's going on." Lisbon's patience was being tested by the heat, and Jane falling back into his old ways.

"The proper, wise balancing of one's whole life may depend upon the feasibility of a cup of tea at an unusual hour." Jane replied enigmatically."Someone has to use their head, and apart from a tan or a few freckles in your case my dear Lisbon, I doubt you'll have much to show for the last few hours."

Eschewing her usual coffee for a cold drink, Lisbon mulled over what Jane was trying to do. Jane was looking way too smug for her to ask outright, so she put forward her theory. "Assuming Stone sees the cards, he'll feel obliged to check it out. By choosing the 'usual place', as you put it on the card, Stone will make the connection with Lofgren and won't be able to resist."

An approving grin broke over Jane's face. "Planting the seed of doubt about Lofgren's fate will be enough to draw him out. It would be a pyrrhic victory if he were forced to live in exile without the woman he loved."

There was a pregnant pause as the irony of the situation struck both Jane and Lisbon. Jane's own victory had come at great cost to Lisbon, if Pete and Sam had not been able to assure Jane that Teresa was alright, it was doubtful whether Jane would have been able to maintain his exile. He would never have traded his freedom for Lisbon's.

If Stone were half the man Jane thought he was, there was no way he would allow Lofgren to take the rap. As far as Jane knew, Lofgren's role was purely in facilitating access to the Yellowrose network and doing background research. The physical attacks had been entirely Stone's work, but a good DA could work a case against Lofgren and make her equally liable for events. Someone was going to have to pay a price for this, no matter how just their grievances were, the rule of law demanded that something as serious as an attack on the infrastructure could not go unpunished.

In many ways this was the only thing that made this palatable for Jane, the fact that Stone would be exchanging his freedom for Lofgren's. Zach's testament would be enough to exonerate Lofgren from the more serious charges.

An idea started to germinate in Jane's mind, he looked askance at Lisbon weighing the situation up, no way would she approve. Deciding what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, Jane kept that up his sleeve for later.

A kick under the table alerted Jane to the presence of a young man approaching, Stone had made no attempt to disguise his appearance. Well aware of the FBI presence, he knew exactly who had summoned him. Wasting no time on introductions, Stone addressed them anxiously."What's happened to Donna?"

"She's in custody. The game is up, we know everything." Jane kept eye contact with Zach, leaving him in no doubt as to the seriousness of the situation. Zach gave a barely perceptible nod to acknowledge his defeat.

"Sir if you come with us willingly, it will count in your favour later. We all know you didn't want to endanger anyone, but you can't go round planting bombs without some payback." Lisbon took little satisfaction from this arrest, although she knew there was no choice.

In the end they simply walked Stone out to the car park, where the rest of the team waited, and handed Stone over into Abbott's custody.

Jane couldn't resist pulling Abbott to one side "Go easy on him Abbott, I know Schultz wants to throw the book at him but consider how this will play in the public arena when the full story comes out. It will reflect badly on the authorities that a man was driven to take matters into his own hands because he was let down by the system. Go too hard on him and you could be creating a folk hero, just think what the press could make of this."

Abbott looked uneasily at Jane; that sounded suspiciously like a veiled threat. Shaking his head, Abbott dismissed that thought, but nevertheless some of what Jane said made sense. It would be just like Schultz to want to make an example of Stone, perhaps a sense of perspective was required.

* * *

With the case wrapped up all that remained was for Jane to pick up the Airstream, with the weekend approaching it was decided Jane and Lisbon could make their own way back, while the rest of the team wrapped up the necessary casework.

Re-united with his beloved Airstream, Jane carefully inspected it in the car park. Straightening up when he was happy all was in order, Jane became aware of someone staring at him from the far recesses of the car park.

"Lisbon see that man by the beat up pickup, he's watching me." Jane couldn't make the detail out from here, but it was evident their movements were being closely watched.

"He's just standing there, what makes you think he's watching you?" Lisbon just wanted to get home now, and was more than a tad sceptical about Jane's sudden paranoia.

"Don't know, but he's obviously bothered by my presence. What sort of man skulks around the back of an air force base?" Jane was starting to put the pieces together. "Unless of course he's got something to sell."

That grabbed Lisbon's attention. "You think he's one of the drug dealers?"

"They more than likely harvested the crop before abandoning the operation, and there was an established market here. Just watch him as I move around." Jane went and fetched some water containers from the Airstream, so they could top up the water tanks before their return journey. Sure enough Jane's every move was being monitored.

"I'll pretend to get some drinks, while you fill the water containers up and we'll see what happens." Lisbon quickly alerted the local PD, and then hid as Jane went to fill the containers at the faucet not far from the suspect. Stealthily making her way behind the parked cars, Lisbon was poised ready to respond in case the man made a move.

Jane smiled cheerily in the direction of the suspect, as he filled the tanks up. Sure enough the man made his way over to Jane, it was obvious from his expression that he recognised Jane, and was weighing up whether or not this loose end needed to be tied up.

"You look familiar dude, have we met?" He ventured cautiously.

With a glance at Lisbon to alert her to be ready, Jane looked him coolly in the eye. "Well I can only go by your voice, but of course my recollection of our last meeting is rather fuzzy."

With a quick look round to check the coast was clear, the man whipped out a knife. "Get out of the way Jane." Lisbon yelled, as she came hurtling out from behind the car, pointing her gun at the perp. Briefly distracted by checking Jane was out of harm's way, Lisbon couldn't react in time when she was slammed shoulder first against the fence post. Winded after the sickening thud, she slid down onto the ground taking her assailant with her.

Seeing the knife on the floor Lisbon shouted a warning to Jane, as her assailant got to his feet. Her gun was useless, resting limply in the hand at the end of her arm, which hung disjointedly from her shoulder. Grimacing with pain Lisbon reached out with her leg, and kicked the knife in Jane's direction. Hearing the approaching sirens, escape seemed the best option to the drug dealer, but with all escape routes blocked, there was no alternative but to scale the wooden fence.

Lisbon was transfixed when she saw Jane pick up the knife and coolly assess the situation. "What the hell are you doing Jane?" Her eyes opened in horror as Jane launched the knife, time stood still as the knife whizzed through the air and pinned the perp's hand to the fence. A satisfied smile crossed Jane's face as his target yelped in pain, unable to move from where he was pinned.

Jane brushed his hands together and turned to Lisbon with a grin. "Good to know I've still got the knack."

"Jeez Jane, you could have killed him." Lisbon couldn't believe what she had just seen.

"No chance of that, I was Coltello the knife thrower's stooge when I was a kid at the carnival, I throw a mean knife." In truth Jane wouldn't have been bothered if his knife had found a fleshier target; it would have been payback for his own aches and pains.

Seeing Lisbon slumped in pain, Jane knelt gently down "How about we get you to the hospital, unless you want me to put your shoulder back in. I used to be a dab hand at it." He raised an eyebrow enquiringly at her.

"Don't even think about it " She growled.

* * *

News of their exploits had reached the office by time the pair returned to work on the Monday, there was a new found respect for Jane, perhaps he wasn't such an ineffectual poser after all. A stream of people came to see them as the morning went on. Jane was slightly bemused when a pert red head ran over, and locked Lisbon's arms against her sides as she bear hugged her, breathlessly exclaiming. " Teresa thank heavens you're safe, we heard what happened to you." Held in a vice like grip, Lisbon could only screw her face up distastefully and flap her hands helplessly at her sides, as she was peppered with kisses by the excitable red head.

" Calm down Carol. We were just doing our job." Lisbon tried to brush her away, embarrassed by the unabashed hero worship. Jane just raised his eyebrows slightly in response to the performance.

When things had calmed down again, Jane disappeared to take care of some business, telling Lisbon he would be back shortly. Lisbon looked up with a start, when Abbott slammed his door as he stormed out of his office, fuming after yet another roasting from Schultz. Whenever anything went wrong, he was the whipping boy these days. Not bothering to hide his frustration he looked around for Jane and bellowed "Who the hell is Karen Cross?" Fischer swept across to try and mollify Abbott, he looked fit to burst.

"Uh oh." Wylie muttered, recognising the name Jane had asked him to send some files to earlier.

"I'll lay odds that damned fool consultant is behind this." Abbott muttered, the memory of their conversation still fresh in his mind.

"Now, now Dennis we've all got to work together. Just remember he closes cases." Fischer had a twinkle in her eye, amused at seeing Abbott being on the receiving end of one of Jane's plays for once.

Abbott was a big enough man to know when he was beaten; a slow smile crossed his face. "Alexa is getting some real heat for this, the press are all over her. Guess it's not so bad after all." He just shrugged it off philosophically.

Cho and Lisbon exchanged furtive glances. Lisbon couldn't help but smile as she turned away, son of a gun, what the hell had Jane done now?

* * *

Lisbon's face froze as she saw Pike crossing the office in her direction, she had put him off all weekend, insisting she wasn't up to a discussion and besides her decision was final.

Abbott immediately homed in on the situation, seeing Pike's determined look and Lisbon's clear apprehension, he swerved across Pike's path just before he reached Lisbon's desk and slapped him heartily on the back."Pike just the man. I've got a meeting with Schultz tomorrow, can you give me a final update on the art heist, on my way out." Pike felt himself being led firmly to the elevator.

Pike got in as the doors opened, but Abbot stopped in his tracks and felt his pockets theatrically. "Darn it if I haven't forgotten my phone. I'll call you later Pike." Abbott waited until the doors had firmly closed, carrying the bewildered Agent Pike away. Abbott just winked at Cho as he walked past.

It was now common knowledge that Pike and Lisbon had split up, but the official news hadn't reached Jane who had been preoccupied hatching his own plot.

Feeling an overwhelming feeling of relief, Lisbon guessed it was time to put Jane out of his misery. It was nearly home time so she sauntered over to the couch and plonked down next to Jane.

"Figure you owe me a meal after getting me into that scrape." Lisbon said archly.

Something about her tone made Jane sit up. "What no Pike tonight?"

"Nah." She crinkled her nose.

"Oh, I guess you've got something planned for tomorrow then?" Jane ventured cautiously.

"Nope I'm free for the foreseeable future." Her eyes twinkled.

The biggest grin split Jane's face ear to ear.

"Well you could at least have the grace to pretend to be sorry about it." Lisbon pouted. " You never change."

"I can change." He said teasingly.

"I'll believe that when I see it."She countered sceptically.

"I could buy some black shoes, or maybe grow a beard." Jane rubbed his chin speculatively.

Lisbon looked incredulously at him. "Oh pur-lease!"

"I could cut my hair off; I believe a buzz cut is all the rage these days." He raised an eyebrow enquiringly.

"What and break the hearts of all the women who want to run their fingers through your hair?" Cho snorted in the background. Crap she hadn't meant to say that out loud!

Jane grinned like a Cheshire cat in Cho's direction, the snort alerting him of their audience. They bickered all the way to the elevator. Jane all but bumping into her, he walked that close behind.

Fischer was doing the rounds holding out her hand, as she called in her wager. Any doubters were pointed in the direction of Jane and Lisbon walking across the car park, with Jane's arm casually slung over Lisbon's shoulder.

Abbott drifted over to Cho, after watching their departure with amusement. "It's a bit premature for Fischer to collect her winnings isn't it?"

"Probably." Cho didn't bother looking up from his desk, he'd seen it all before.

"So what happens next ?" Abbott enquired.

"Denial." Cho muttered, far from certain this wasn't just another false dawn.

"Guess that figures." Abbott made his way back to his office, just shaking his head at Fischer counting out her ill gotten gains.

* * *

 **A/N** The tea quote is by Arnold Bennett, and the knife throwing is unashamed plagiarism.

Many thanks to everyone who has followed this story throughout, even when it has veered into farce. It's been a bit self indulgent, but I've enjoyed writing it.


End file.
